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ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

An American Migration 



Only 500 copies of this work have been 
printed from type, of which this is 

No. 2 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

An American Migration 

Family English Not German 



WITH 
PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS 



BY 

Marion Dexter Learned 

Professor of the Germanic Languages and Literatures at the 
University of Pennsylvania 






WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL 

PHILADELPHIA 

IQ09 






■*• 



Copyright, 1909 
MARldN" DEXTER LEARNED 



Press of 

International Printing Co 

Philadelphia 



ICLA25 J -3 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Chapter I. 

The Lincolns in New England and New 

Jersey , 1-20 

Chapter II. 
The Lincolns in Pennsylvania 21-31 

Chapter III. 
Abraham Lincoln in Pennsylvania 32-56 

Chapter IV. 
Children of Abraham Lincoln, of Spring- 
field Township, Chester County, Pa. . . 57-66 

Chapter V. 
Children of Mordecai Lincoln of Exeter. . 67-99 

Chapter VI. 

John Lincoln or "Virginia John," Son of 

Mordecai of Exeter 100-1 17 

Chapter VII. 
Abraham Lincoln of Virginia and Ken- 
tucky 1 18-129 

Chapter VIII. 
The Forms of the Name Lincoln 130-145 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Opposite 
Page 

Frontispiece — A. Lincoln 

House of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter, as it Looks To-day 20 

Will of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter, Pa. (First page) 26 

Will of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter, Pa. (Second page) . . 28 
Inventory of the Estate of Mordecai Lincoln, the Elder, of 

Exeter, Berks County, Pa 28 

Friends' Meeting House, Exeter, Berks County 30 

Petition for Tavern License, Showing Signature of Abra- 
ham Lincoln, of Springfield 44 

The Will of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield 54 

Inventory of the Estate of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield 56 

Bill of Costs of Executing Elisabeth Crowl 72 

List of Petit Jury Returned by Thomas Lincoln, Sheriff of 

Reading, Pa 74 

First Page of the Account Book of Abraham Lincoln, of 

Exeter 80 

Administrators' Account of the Estate of Abraham Lin- 
coln, Son of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter (First page) . 86 
Administrators' Account of the Estate of Abraham Lin- 
coln, Son of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter (Second 

page) 86 

Administrator's Account of the Estate of Ann Lincoln, 

Widow of Abraham Lincoln, of Exeter 88 

First Two Pages of the Old "Lincoln Record" 92 

Receipt Showing the Signature of John Lincoln 106 

Deed of John and Rebecca Lincoln to Isaac Lincoln, Con- 
veying Land on Linville's Creek in 1773 112 

Deed of John and Rebecca Lincoln to Isaac Lincoln, Con- 
veying Land on Linville's Creek in 1773 112' 

Signature of Jacob Lincoln, Son of "Virginia John" 

Lincoln 1 J 8 

Old Lincoln House on Linville's Creek, Rockingham 

County, Virginia 122 

Signature of Abraham and Bathseba Lincoln, Grand- 
father and Grandmother of President Lincoln 126 



Vlll ILLUSTRATIONS 

Opposite 
Page 

Present View of Linville's Creek Where it Passes Through 
the Original Lincoln Tracts 128 

Marriage Certificate of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks 130 

Marriage Bond and Certificate of Thomas Lincoln 132 

Deed Showing the Correct Name of "Lincoln," Not 
"Linkhorn" 134 

Old Lincoln Cabin Near Springfield, Washington County, 
Kentucky 136 

The Cabin in Which Abraham Lincoln, the President, 
Was Born February 12, 1809 138 

Warrant Issued to Abraham Lincoln, in Kentucky, Show- 
ing the Name "Linkhorn" 142 

Survey of the first Warrant of Land to Abraham Lincoln 
in Kentucky (then Virginia) 144 

Map of the Migration of the Lincolns from Hingham, 
Mass., to Kentucky 146 



PREFACE 



The following researches into the family of Ab- 
raham Lincoln, in America, are the outgrowth of 
a suggestion made by Dr. G. Langmann, of New 
York City, and were carried out by the encourage- 
ment which he gave. In 1901, Louis P. Hennig- 
hausen, Attorney-at-Law, in Baltimore, Maryland, 
published in the Report for the Society of the His- 
tory of the Germans, in Maryland, an interesting ar- 
ticle entitled "Abraham Lincoln or Linkhorn" sup- 
porting the view that Abraham Lincoln, the Presi- 
dent of the United States, was descended from a 
German family by the name of Linkhorn. The argu- 
ment was built up with much skill and found quite 
general acceptance among the Germans of America, 
giving rise to German poetry on Lincoln, the Ger- 
man President. In 1903, Dr. G. Langmann, wish- 
ing to have the question investigated in detail, re- 
quested the present writer to have some trained aca- 
demic man from the University of Pennsylvania 
examine into the records of Lincoln's origin, and 
publish the results. Failing to find any one with 
sufficient time to devote to a thorough investiga- 
tion of the subject, the present writer undertook 
the work himself. He examined all available rec- 
ords in the several states through which the Lin- 
coln family migrated to Kentucky, namely Mass- 

(ix) 



X PREFACE 

achusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
Virginia, and that part of Transilvanian Virginia, 
now known as Kentucky. In the course of the in- 
vestigation, he unearthed and exploited much orig- 
inal matter relating to the Lincoln family in their 
American wanderings. 

The simple question of settling the name "Lin- 
coln," or "Linkhorn," and its origin soon assumed 
the more extended form of a study of the Lincoln 
family as a typical American migration. It is this 
two-fold form of the investigation which is pub- 
lished in the following pages. 

The author wishes to express his indebtedness to 
the following persons and institutions : 

Former Governor S. W. Pennypacker, who al- 
lowed the author to make use of his rich collec- 
tion of manuscripts ; George F. Baer, President of 
the Reading Railroad, who generously turned over 
his notes on the Lincoln family in Berks County; 
Louis Richards, President of the Berks County His- 
torical Society, who gave access to his valuable 
Note Books; B. F. Owen, of the Berks County 
Historical Society, who assisted the writer in using 
the Archives of the Society ; Albert Cook My- 
ers, of Moylan, Pa., for valuable assistance and 
the Exeter cut; George C. Beekman, of Red Bank, 
New Jersey, for information touching the Bownes 
and Saltars of that state; Major Armour, of 
Harrisburg, Pa., who allowed the author to use 
the Account Books of John Harris; General John 



PREFACE XI 

E. Roller, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, who intro- 
duced the author to the Lincolns in Rockingham 
County, Virginia; Gilbert Cope, of West Chester, 
Pa., who permitted the use of his valuable collec- 
tion of Chester County papers; L. P. Hennighau- 
sen, of Baltimore, for information concerning the 
Lincolns of Maryland and Loudoun County, Vir- 
ginia; Colonel R. T. Durrett, of Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, who kindly furnished photographs of Lin- 
coln documents; T. B. Fitzpatrick, of Hodgenville, 
Kentucky, for the privilege of using photographs of 
the Lincoln houses, published in his Lincoln Souve- 
nir; the Librarians of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania, the Historical Society of Virginia, 
the Historic-Geneological Society of Massachusetts, 
the State Library and Department of Public Rec- 
ords, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; the Secretary and 
his Assistant of the Department of Internal Affairs, 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; the Office of Recorder 
of Deeds, in Freehold, New Jersey, in Philadelphia, 
West Chester, Reading and Lancaster, Pennsylva- 
nia, in Elkton, Maryland, and in Stanton, Harri- 
sonburg and Winchester, Virginia, and also the 
Office of the Secretary of State, Trenton, New 
Jersey, and the Archives in the Surveyor's Office at 
Perth Amboy, New Jersey. 

The following members of the Lincoln family 
have aided in furnishing information and giving 
access to original materials : 

Dr. J. E. Lincoln, Lacy Spring, Va. ; Miss Kate 



Xll PREFACE 

Pannebecker, of Linville, Va. ; Mrs. Parvin (nee 
Lincoln), of Leesport, Pa.; Mr. David Lincoln, of 
Birdsboro, Pa. ; Mr. Richard Lincoln and Harrison 
G. Lincoln, and family, of Reading, Pa. ; Mr. 
Francis H. Lincoln, of Boston, Mass. 

As the aim of this study was not to furnish a 
family tree of the Lincolns in America, which task 
is being performed by the Geneologist, Mr. J. Henry 
Lea, the author of this work was happy to be 
able to turn over to Mr. Lea many of his geneologi- 
cal notes relating to the date of John Lincoln's 
migration to Virginia and the Lincoln epitaphs in 
the old graveyard on Linvill's Creek, for incorpora- 
tion into Mr. Lea's Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln, 
and to receive in exchange some useful suggestions 
from Mr. Lea. 

The documentary character of this investigation 
seemed to justify the printing of the most important 
deeds and other original papers in full. An effort 
has been made to give the exact text of these rec- 
ords in the original orthography. In some cases it 
was difficult to decide about the intended use of 
capitals in the originals, particularly in the case of 
the letters S and C, which were often written in 
such a way as to leave it doubtful whether the let- 
ters were intended to be large or small. Glaring 
mistakes in the original text are usually marked 
thus : [sic] 

The Author. 
Philadelphia, 
Thanksgiving Day, 1908. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 
Family English not German. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE LINCOLNS IN NEW ENGLAND AND NEW JERSEY. 

As the Germans have given currency to the the- 
ory that Abraham Lincoln, the President of the 
United States, was of German ancestry and de- 
scended from a forebear by the name of "Link- 
horn," in Pennsylvania, it has seemed worth while 
to test this theory in the light of the records of the 
Lincoln family. This study of the original docu- 
ments relating to the Lincolns in the various signifi- 
cant centres of settlement in the colonial period 
makes it possible to follow the history of the mi- 
gration of one of the most typical families in Amer- 
ica and to trace the motives prompting the 
migration. 

Abraham Lincoln, the President, knew very little 
about the history of his family, as is shown by a 
passage in a letter which he wrote, while a Member 
of Congress, in 1848, to Hon. Solomon Lincoln, of 
Hingham, Massachusetts: "My father's name is 
Thomas. My grandfather's was Abraham, the 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



same as my own. My grandfather went from Rock- 
ingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about the 
year 1782, and two years afterwards was killed by 
the Indians. We have a vague tradition that my 
grandfather went from Pennsylvania to Virginia, 
and that he was a Quaker. Further than this I have 
never heard anything. It may do no harm to say 
that 'Abraham' and 'Mordecai' are common names 
in the Lincoln family." 

In an article contributed to Johnson's Encyclopae- 
dia in 1859, Lincoln traces his ancestry, in a general 
way, back to New England. He had only a faint 
tradition of the connecting links in the migration of 
the various branches of the family from New Eng- 
land, and found the two chief arguments for his 
New England origin in the family tradition that 
they came from Massachusetts, and in the persistent 
recurrence of certain Christian names in the Lin- 
coln family, as we have seen in the letter quoted 
above. This statement is particularly interesting, 
as it reflects the crude condition of American geneal- 
ogy, even in the case of the family of a President 
of the United States, in the middle of the nineteenth 
century. This brief and indistinct outline of the 
Lincoln genealogy has been brought out into bold 
relief since the President's tragic death, and many 
missing links have been supplied by the genealogists, 
so that we are now in a position to trace with cer- 
tainty the lineage of the great martyr President. 
Even a decade later a biographer of Lincoln 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 3 

writes the following concerning the residence of the 
Lincolns in Pennsylvania: "Where the Lincolns of 
Berks County (Pa.) came from, no records have as 
yet divulged, but they are believed to have been 
Quakers, and to have escaped from the intolerance 
of Massachusetts to the friendly soil of Pennsyl- 
vania." * Although this confession of ignorance on 
the part of the biographer appears to us now little 
less than naive, it is worthy of note, as this indiffer- 
ence and superficiality have not entirely disappeared 
from American biography. 

The name Lincoln is clearly connected with the 
place and shire name "Lincoln" (Lind -f- Colonia) 
in England and is easily traced in the local records 
of Lincoln, as may be seen in the Lincoln Marriage 
Licenses* recently published, in which are found the 
following entries : 

"[a. 1612] John Lincoln of Witherne, yeom., aet 
50, & ffaithe Cooke, of Libble Carl- 
ton, wid., aet. 34. appln. by Wm 
Hundleby, of Witherne, yeom. 

[a. 1623] Rich. Lincoln of the Bail of Lincoln, 
yeom., aet. 28, & Susan Wood, of 
same Sp r , aet. 26. appln. by nrancis 
Walker, of same, yeom." 

The researches of J. Henry Lea and J. R. Hutch- 



* Cf. Biographical Sketch of His Excellency, Lincoln, 
Late President of the United States. By Charles Henry 
Hart, LL. B. (Reprinted from the Introduction to the Bib- 
liographia Lincolniana. Albany, Joel Munsel, 1870. page 4.) 



4 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

inson, in a forthcoming work, have traced the Lin- 
colns back to Robert Lincoln in England, about 
1540, in an unmistakable line leading down to the 
Lincolns of Hingham in England and of Hingham, 
Massachusetts, in New England. 

THE LINCOLNS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

The history of the Lincolns, as we have it now 
from various sources, shows us that they came 
from Hingham in England and settled at and 
near Hingham, Massachusetts. The first settlement 
at Hingham, Massachusetts, was made by the Rev. 
Peter Hobart and twenty-nine others, who had land 
apportioned to them by lot September 18, 1JJ35. 
The next year, 1)536, lands were granted to the fol- 
following Lincolns: Thomas Lincoln, the miller; 
Thomas Lincoln, the weaver, and Thomas Lincoln, 
the cooper. The following year, 1^37, land was 
granted also to Samuel Lincoln, the brother of 
Thomas Lincoln, the weaver.** 

Thomas Lincoln, the miller, was born in England 
in 1603, and died in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1683. 
He first settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, and re- 
moved about 1652 to Taunton. He was called "the 
miller" to distinguish him from the other prominent 
Thomas Lincoln of Hingham, who was a large land 
owner and was known as Thomas Lincoln, the hus- 
bandman, thus making the fourth Thomas Lincoln 
who settled in Hingham. This Thomas Lincoln, the 
husbandman, came from Wyndham, England, in 

** Cf. the articles on the Lincoln Family by Shackford and 
Egle, also Hart's Biographical Sketch of His Excellency 
Lincoln, 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 5 

1638, and married about 1642 Margaret, the daugh- 
ter of Richard Sanger, of Hingham. In addition to 
these four Thomases and Samuel Lincoln, two other 
Lincolns settled in the same region: Stephen Lin- 
coln, the brother of Thomas Lincoln, the husband- 
man, and Daniel Lincoln. 

Samuel Lincoln, who came over as a "servant" 
or apprentice, seems to have been the most modest 
of all the Lincolns in point of property. In the 
Office of Rolls in London is found the following 
reference to him : "Francis Lawes, born in Nor- 
wich, Norfolk County, and lining weaver, aged — , 
and Liddea, his wife, aged 49, with one child, Mary, 
and two servants: Samuel Lincoen, aged 18 years, 
and Ann Smith, aged 19 years — are desirous to pass 
to New England to inhabit." These people went 
to New England with William Andrews, of Ipswich, 
Master of the ship John and Dorothy, of 
Ipswich, and William, his son, Mr. of the Rose 
of Yarmouth, April 18, 1637.* It was this Samuel 
Lincoln, the "servant," who by the irony of democ- 
racy became the progenitor of the family of Abra- 
ham Lincoln, the President of the United States of 
America. Samuel Lincoln thus came from Norwich, 
England, in the year 1637, at th e a S e of„-i8 years. 
He died May 26, 1690. He married Martha (Lewis), 
who died April 10, 1693. Ten children were the 
issue of this union. The eldest son, Samuel, became 
the progenitor of Lincolns of prominence in Massa- 

* Cf. Chicago Tribune, Apr. 14, 1883. 






6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

chusetts. The fourth son, Mordecai, was born June 
17, 1657, in Hingham, and died October 13, 1727, 
in Scituate, Massachusetts.* This Mordecai was the 
great, great, great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln, 
the President. Mordecai Lincoln was a blacksmith 
by trade, and established the first smelting furnace 
in New England. He was a large contributor to- 
wards the erection of the Iron Works at Bound 
Brook, Massachusetts, which comprised as their 
chief feature a Catalan forge for making wrought 
iron.** There is record of him as a foot-soldier of 
Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1679, and as a black- 
smith in Hull about 1680. In the years 1680 to 
1685 he is found among the taxables and is assessed 
2/4 Bull, for money there in 1684. His land, or 
residence, is mentioned in the deed given by Benja- 
min Bosworth and his wife, Beatrice, to Robert 
Gould Hull, December 14, 1682. His uncle, Thomas 
Lincoln, the weaver, appears as witness of a deed 
in 1698.*** 

A deed in the possession of George Lincoln, of 
Hingham, dated December 21, 1713, contains the 



* Cf. Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1883. (Cp. Cincinnati 
Gazette, Oct. 6, 1882, referring to Mr. S. Bernard Elliott, of 
Pataskala, O., as having fixed the pedigree of President 
Lincoln.) 

** Cf. James M. Swank, History of the Manufacture of 
Iron in All Ages, and Particularly in the United States, from 
Colonial Times to 1891. (Second Edition, Philadelphia, 1892, 
page 505.) 

*** Cf. Ms. Notes on the Lincoln Family in the Massachu- 
setts Hist. Genealogical Society, Boston. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 7 

following information: "George Jackson, of Mar- 
blehead, sells to Mordecai Lincoln, of Scituate, 
"blacksmith," two parcels of salt-meadow land lying 
and being in Cohassett, then the Township of Hing- 
ham, one of which is bounded East by a brook or 
river called Bound Brook." 

Mordecai, the blacksmith, married Sarah, the 
daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Whitman) Jones. 
He moved first from Hingham to Hull, and about 
1704 to the neighborhood of Scituate, where he 
built his furnace for smelting ore. Mordecai and 
Sarah Lincoln had the following children : Morde- 
cai, Abraham, Isaac and Sarah— all born at Hing- 
ham, Massachusetts — and Elizabeth and Jacob, born 
at Scituate, Massachusetts. In 1727, Mordecai Lin- 
coln, of Hull, willed his sons and executors, Isaac 
and Jacob, his real estate in Hingham and Scituate. 
To his other sons, Mordecai and Abraham, he gave 
no pounds and 160 pounds, respectively, in money 
and bills of credit. These were the sons, doubtless, 
who had gone to settle in Monmouth County, New 
Jersey, adjoining Middlesex, in which county (near 
Woodbridge) the Massachusetts families of Usleys, 
Moores, Hales, Rolfes, Pikes and others had settled. 

It would appear that the Lincolns had found 
their way to New Jersey and Maryland before 
1700. There is mention of Lincoln's Inn, Middle- 
sex County, as early as April 5, 1685, and March 
4, 1 69 1 -2, showing that the name was fresh in the 



8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

minds of the early settlers. In Maryland a num- 
ber of important entries, particularly in the land 
records of Cecil County, date back to the same 
early period. The following entry, for example, 
shows that there was already a tract of land in Cecil 
County, called by the name of "Linckhorne," after 
the manner of plantations in the South : 

Maryland Ss/ Know all men by these presents 
that wee Jonathan Linckhorne and Alexander 
M cc Key [McKoy] of Cecell County planters have 
leased Lett Assigned & Sett over unto W m Blay of 
y e Said County ***** tract called Linck- 
horne wch lies on y e East Side of y e Mill branch 
[for a term of 99 years from date (April 27, 
1704). Consideration £5000 of tobacco]. 

Jonathan Linckhorn (Seal) 

his 
Alex r . M Mackey (Seal) 

mark 
Witnesses : 
Wm Wilson 
Peter Allaby 

his 
Jn° — Linckhorne 
mark 

[Recorded August 16, 1704. Copied in unbound 

deed book pp. 188-189, Court House, Elkton, 

Maryland.]* 

Wm. Lincolne appears among the witnesses of 

the will of Richard Wells, Sr., in Anne Arundel Co., 



* From the notes of Albert Cook Myers. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 9 

Md., June 22, 1667, and Anne and Jon. Lincoln as 
witnesses of the will of Nathaniel Garrett, Cecil Co., 
Md., Apr. 27, 1688. 

It is worthy of note that the names Lincoln (or 
Linckhorne) and McCoy (or McKay), found to- 
gether here in Maryland, and the names Lincoln (or 
Lincon) and Schenck (or Shanks), found together 
in New Jersey, are all met with again in the Valley 
of Virginia in the latter half of the eighteenth 
century. 

THE LINCOLNS IN NEW JERSEY. 

It cannot be reasonably questioned that Mordecai 
Lincoln and Abraham, his brother, of Monmouth 
County, New Jersey, were the two sons whom Mor- 
decai Lincoln, of Hull, Massachusetts, mentioned in 
his will in 1727. The circumstantial evidence is 
quite convincing. First, the fact that the father 
gave the children at home his land, but to the two 
brothers, Mordecai and Abraham, their portion in 
cash, would indicate that they had gone away from 
home. Second, these two Lincolns, Mordecai and 
Abraham, are not found in any records of that 
period, except in those of Monmouth County, New 
Jersey. Third, these two brothers, Mordecai and 
Abraham, are found in New Jersey in a settlement 
made by New Englanders, largely from Massachu- 
setts. 

The exact date of the settlement of Mordecai and 
Abraham Lincoln in East Jersey has not been defi- 



IO ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

nitely determined. The earliest record of a Lincoln 
in New Jersey is a reference to Mordecai Lincoln 
found in the will of Captain John Bowne, a mer- 
chant of Middletown, New Jersey. The will is 
dated September the 14th, 17 14, and shows that 
Mordecai Lincoln was already married to Hannah 
Saltar, daughter of Richard and Sarah (Bowne) 
Saltar, of Freehold, New Jersey, and was evidently 
settled there. In accordance with the terms of this 
will, John Bowne bequeathed to his niece, Hannah 
(Saltar) Lincoln, the sum of 250 pounds. The text 
of the will runs as follows : 

In the Name of God Amen This fourteenth day 
of September in the year of Our Lord 1714, — I 
John Bowne of Midletown Merchant being sick 
and Weake in body but of perfect mind and mem- 
ory thanks to God therefore but Calling to mind 
the Mortality of the body and that it is appointed 
[once] for all men once to die do make and or- 
dain this my last Will and Testament; first and 
principally J give and bequeath my soul into the 
hands of God that gave it and my body J recom- 
mend to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like 
and decent Manner at the discretion of my Execu- 
tors here after Named and as to my worldly Estate 
J give and dispose of the Same in manner follow- 
ing, Imprimus my Will is that all my Just debts 
be all paid and discharged ; Item I give to my wife 
Frances Bowne the Sum of four hundred pounds 
money of the Province aforesaid in Right of her 
Dowry Jtem J give and bequeath to my Sister Sa- 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION I I 

rah Saltar all my Plate and the bed whereon J 
lye and furniture. Jtem J give to Gersham Mot 
the the sum of two hundred pounds for the use of 
his Children. Jtem J give to Joseph Dennis one 
hundred and twenty pounds, to Ieremiah White 
the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds, Jtem 
to Thomas Saltar and John Saltar and Hannah 
Lincon and to William Hartshorn's three Eldest 
Chilldren the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds 
to each of them. The Rest of my Estate both 
Real, and Personall I Will to be Equally Divided 
between my Brother Obadiah Bowne and my 
Brother Richard Saltar, their Heirs and Assigns 
for Ever, Whome I do hereby appoint Sole Ex- 
ecutors of this my last Will and Testament Jn 
witness whereof J have hereunto set my hand and 
Seal the day and year first above written. 

John Bowne. 
Signed, Sealed and Delivered 

in Presence of 

James Paul 

Joseph Dennis 

Marget Commen* 

[Affidavits of witnesses & certificates of Ro. 
Hunter, Governor.] 

Mordecai Lincoln is appears as "Mordecai Lin- 
horn" among the mortgagors in the inventory of 
Capt. John Bowne's estate in 1714. 

Another reference to Mordecai Lincoln in East 

* Will of John Bowne Sept. 14, 1714, Recorded in A 10 & 
recorded with affidavits A 27, State House, Trenton. 



12 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

New Jersey, is found in a letter of John Saltar to 
his uncle, Obediah Bowne, executor of Captain John 
Bowne, dated April 25th, 1716. The part of the let- 
ter in question runs as follows : 

April 25th 1716. 
Honord vncle Bowne 

I have Sent by my father Such writings as were 
in my hands & appurtaining to the Estate of my 
dec d vncle Capt John Bowne. Neare fifty pound 
in them my vncle had given to me, not many 
weeks before he dyed, & time failing the property 
of the debt was not altered in my Name soe be- 
cause I cannot fairly pretend to proceed to Se- 
cure myself w th out yor loane [ ?] I have thought fit 
to remitt ye same to ye Estate. Haueing onely an 
order to take Security for the Same to my owne 
use from vndr his hand & Soe Expect y* yo will 
be favorable to me on y t Score ; I depend on your 
Courtesy y 1 which was given to me is not in y e 
Inventary, I have alsoe Send a bond from John 
Chenoath to my vncle vnder Such like Circum- 
stances for ten pounds & not altered as was or- 
dered & Intended to my brother Lincon — the 
whole that is giuen and Secured to my brother 
Thomas Mardden [Madden?] & my self amounts 
in all to about four hundred & twenty pounds or 
thereabouts *********** 

Yor Ever faithful & obedient Nephew, 
John Saltar* 



* This letter was found in 1907 in the possession of Mr. 
William Crawford, near Red Bank, N. J., who allowed the 
present writer to photograph it. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 3 

The importance of this letter for us is to be found 
in the fact that in it John Saltar calls Mordecai Lin- 
coln, or Lincon, his brother, thus showing that Mor- 
decai Lincoln's wife, Hannah Saltar, was John Sal- 
tar's sister, and so establishing an important fam- 
ily relation for the New Jersey record of the 
Lincolns. 

The next trace which we have of Mordecai Lin- 
coln in East Jersey appears in a law suit begun by 
Obediah Bowne in the Monmouth County court, 
in the year 171 6, and continued for a period 
of four years. The brief minutes of this trial are 
still extant in the original manuscript Court Book in 
Freehold, New Jersey, and afford such an interest- 
ing glimpse into the Jersey court procedure of that 
early time that they seemed worthy of insertion 
here : 

Court of Com Pleas Feb 28, 17 16 

Obadiah Bowne 
Adm r &c 
u 
Mordecaj Lincoln 

Debt 
£140 

The Like Rule [Plaint. 20 Days to file Declar & 
Defend 1 20 Days to give in Special Bail & to Plead 
as the Law Directs] Nonsuit for Want of a 
Proper Power of Attorney. 



■^ ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Court Session May 35, 1717 ( 8 a - m -) 

Obadiah Bowne 
Administrator &c 

u 
Mordecaj Lincoln 

Debt 
£140 

After hearing Mr. Vernon for y e PI 1 & Mr Gor- 
don for the Defend 1 Court allowed a Non Pros. 

Court Aug 27, 1 7 19 
Obadiah Bowne Adm r 
u 
Mordecaj Lincorn 

Debt 

£140 Non Est 

Court 28 November 1719 

Obadiah Bowne Adm r 

of Elis : Bowne Deced 

u 

Mordecaj Linckorn 

Debt 

£140 Non Est 

Obadiah Bowne Adm r 

u 
Mordecaj Lincon & 
Richard Saltar 

Debt 
£140 



Court May 27, 1720 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 5 

Mr. Kinsey P Pit Ordered that the Sherif Bring 
y e Body That the PI 4 Declare Twenty Days The 
Defend 1 to Give Sp : Bail in the like Time. 

Nonsuit to y e action u Saltar for Want of Let- 
ters adminis & Nonsuit to y e action u Lincon 
for Want of a Declar. 

Court Aug 2.7. 1720 
Obadiah Bowne Adm r 

[u] 

Mordecaj Lincon & 
Richard Saltar 
Debt 
£140 

Ordered that the Nonsuits in this action be set 
aside that Lincon have Twenty Days time to give 
Special Bail and that Each of them have Twenty 
Days time to Plead, Mr. Kinsey to Declare against 
Lincoln in the Same time upon Payment of costs 
by Mr. Saltar the Action against Lincon With- 
drawn by Consent of the PI 1 attorney. 

In the jury which sat at the Court of Common 
Pleas August 29, 171 7, we find Mordecai Lincoln, 
Jonathan Borden and Benjamin Borden. 

Mordecai Lincoln appears also in another suit 
brought by him against John Liming, November 
the 30th, 1 72 1, and continued until November 29th, 
1722. The proceedure is briefly recorded in the 
Court Book as follows, and shows that Mordecai 
Lincoln, either in person or through his attorney, 
transacted business in New Jersey at this time : 



l6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Court Nov. 30 1721 

Mordecaj Lincon 

u 

John Liming 
Debt 

£.. 9.. — Non est 

Court Mar 1 1721 

Mordecaj Lincon 

u 

John Liming 
Debt 

in.. 9. — Non est 

Court Nov. 29, 1722. 

Mordecaj Lincon 

u 

John Liming 

Debt Mr. P. Plaintif 

in.. 9.. The Like Rule. 

The last direct reference to Mordecai Lincoln as 
resident in New Jersey is found in the following 
deed issued by Richard Saltar to Mordecai Lincoln 
under date of February 2d, 1720: 

This Indenture made this Second Day of Febru- 
ary in y e Sixth year of his Majestys Reign King 
George &c over Great Brittain France and Ireland 
Defender of y e faith &c Annoq Domini one thou- 
sand seven hundred and twenty Between Richard 
Saltar of the Towne of freehold County of Mon- 
mouth and and [sic!] Province of New Jersey of 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 7 

y e one Party and Mordecai Lincon of of [sic!] y e 
Same of the other Party Witnesseth y* y e said 
Richard Saltar for and in Consideration of y e 
sum of one hundred and and fifty two Pounds 
Curant Money of y e Province aforesaid to y e 
said Richard Saltar by y e s d Lincon already in 
hand Paid the receipt whereof he y e said Rich- 
ard Saltar Does hereby owne and that he is there- 
with fully Satis fyed and Paid and thereof and 
therefrom Does hereby fully clearly and absolutely 
aquit Release and Discharge y e said Mordecai 
Lincon his Heirs Exts & adm s and every of them 
forever, Hath given granted Bargained sould 
aliened Enfeoffed Released and discharged and 
by these Presence Doth give grant Bargain Sell 
and Confirme unto him y e said Mordecai Lincon 
his heirs and assigns forever all those Tracts of 
Land & Meadow on Machaponix River & Gravill 
Brook in the County of Middlesex, the first Tract 
Is bounded on said Matchaponix River on y e 
South by y e Pine Brook East by the Land now 
or Late of Will m Estill on y e west, and by Land 
unsurveyed on y e North also all that Tract 
Bounded westerly by Gravill Brook Southerly by 
the Land of William Estill from y e Mouth of 
Long Meadow Run Easterly & Northerly by Land 
unsurveyed. Also all y e Long Meadow. Upon y e 
s d Long Meadow Run Bounded west by y e Last 
Mentioned Tract of Land and all round y e other 
side up Upland Unsurveyed In all containing four 
Hundred are. [acres] More or Less besides allow- 
ance for barron Land and High Ways with all the 
Royaltys Proffets advantages Hereditaments & 



1 8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

appurtenances to y e said Land and Meadow Be- 
longing or in anywise apertaining also all y e 
Estate Right title Interest claime and Demand 
Whoever of y e said Richard Saltar of in & to 
or out of y e Same on any Part of them as amply 
and fully to all Intents & Purposes asy e same ward 
[sic] conveyed and assured to him by a certain 
Deed of Sale Bearing Date y e seventh Day of No- 
vember Annoq Domini 17 17 from John Reid Es- 
quire to have and to hold y e said Severall Tracts 
of Land and Premises with their appurtenances 
unto him y e said Mordecai Lincon his heirs and as- 
signs to y e only Euse and behoof of y e said Morde- 
cai Lincon his heirs and assigns forever and the 
said Richard Saltar Doth for himself his heirs ex 9 
and adm s to and with y e said Mordecai Lincon his 
heirs and assigs [sic] Covenant Promise and agree 
In y e Manner and forme following Viz: that the 
Granted and Bargained Premises with y e ap- 
purtenances are free and Clear of Incumbrances 
and that y e said Richard Saltar hath good Right 
full Power and Law full Authority to Sell and 
Confirme y e Same In Manner aforesaid and y* y e 
said Richard Saltar his heirs Ex s & Adm s Shall 
and will forever warrant and Defend y e Same In 
y e Peacable and quiet Possession and Seizen of 
him the said Mordecai Lincon his heirs and as- 
signs against all Persons whatsoever In Witness 
whereof the said Richard Saltar hath hereunto 
set his hand and Seale y e day and year first above 
written. Richard Saltar (S) 

Sealed and Delivered In the Presence of 
Thomas Cox, R. Saltar Jun r . 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 19 

April 5, 1727 Then appeared before John An- 
derson Esq r one of his Magestys Councill for the 
Province of New Jersey Richard Saltar Jun r a 
Subscribing Evidence to the above written Instru- 
ment who being Solemnly sworn on the Holy 
Evangelists of Almighty God did declare that he 
saw Richard Saltar therein Named Execute the 
same as his Act and Deed. 

Exam d by Tho s Barrow Sec. 

In the year 1728 in the inventory of Elizabeth 
Salter's Estate mention is made of a debt due Mor- 
decai Lincon.* 

NATHAN LINCOLN OF NEW JERSEY. 

There is record in Sussex County, New Jersey, of 
another Lincoln, Nathan by name, whom we have 
not been able to trace elsewhere. The document in 
question is the will of Nathan Lincoln (or Linken) 
beginning and closing as follows : 

"I, nathan Linken [Linkon?] of Sussex County 
& Westrin division of ye province of New Jersey 

Signed, sealed, published pronounced & deliv- 
ered by the sd Nathan Linken to be his last Will 
in presence of us 

John Wood 

her 
Mary [X] Young, 
mark 

Brice Bicky." 



* Cf. New Jersey Archives, First Series xxiii, p. 401. 



20 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

The will is dated August 7th, 1763. It was re- 
corded January 14th, 1767. By a strange mistake, 
the signature of the testator was misread as Nathan 
Metopon, instead of Nathan Linken, and was calen- 
dared under Metopon. It was only by accident that 
the present writer discovered the identity of this 
Metopon and thus discovered this third Jersey 
Lincoln. 

It lies beyond the purpose of this study to attempt 
to trace the relation of this Nathan Lincoln to Mor- 
decai and Abraham of Monmouth County, New Jer- 
sey, on the one hand, or to the Maryland Lincolns 
on the other. 




L_*X^^ r/ >^<^ 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 21 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LINCOLNS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Both Mordecai Lincoln and his brother Abraham 
Lincoln migrated from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, 
where they spent the remainder of their lives, each 
rearing a numerous family. It is in Pennsylvania 
that we find the most abundant information of the 
Lincoln family. Scores of references to the Lin- 
colns are still preserved in the land records of Har- 
risburg, Philadelphia, West Chester and Reading, 
as will appear in the documents printed below. 



MORDECAI LINCOLN IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mordecai Lincoln begins to appear in the Penn- 
sylvania records in 1720 and we may suppose that 
he migrated from East Jersey to Pennsylvania some 
time, probably soon, after February 2nd of that year. 
In the old burying ground near Allentown, Penn- 
sylvania, is found an epitaph which reads "To the 
Memory of Deborah Lincoln, Aged 3 yrs. 4 mos. 
May 15, 1720." This probably refers to a child of 
Mordecai and Hannah Lincoln. The name of Mor- 
decai Lincoln is found in the tax lists of Chester 
County, Pennsylvania, in 1720 and the following 
years, as these extracts from the original lists will 
show : 



22 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

1720 near y e Branches of the French Creek & 
Brandywine 

Mordecay Lncoln 3s. d. 

1722 Nantmeal 

Mordecai Lincoln 2s. 6d. 

1724 Coventry 

Mordecay LinColn 4 s - 4^- 

1725 Coventry 

Mordecay Lincolin 3s. d. 

These tax lists show that Mordecai Lincoln was 
assessed both in the township of Nantmeal and in 
that of Coventry "near ye branches of the French 
Creek & Brandywine." We learn further particu- 
lars about his land in Coventry in another document 
entitled "Articles of Agreement" between Samuel 
Nut, William Branson and Mordecai Lincoln, dated 
February 28th, 1723: 

"Articles of Agreement Indented made and 
Concluded the Twenty Eighth Day of February 
Anno Doni 1723/4 Between Samuel Nut of the 
Township of Coventry upon the French Creek in 
Chester County Ironmonger of the first Part Wil- 
liam Branson of the City of Phila. Merch*. of the 
Second Part and Mordecai Lincoln of Coventry 
afores d . Ironmonger of the Third Part In Man- 
ner following that is to say — 

Whereas The s d Samuel Nut William Branson 
and Mordecai Lincoln Have at their Joint Charge 
lately erected Built and provided one Dwelling 
House and a Forge with Engines belonging to 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 23 

their Iron Works besides other Buildings & Erec- 
tions Situate Lying and being on a Certain Tract 
of Land at French Creek afores d . * * * 
Articles of Agreement Indented made and Con- 
cluded the Twenty-eighth Day of February Anno 
Doni 1723 Between Samuel Nutt of the Town- 
ship of Coventry upon the French Creek in 
Chester County Ironmonger of the first Part Mor- 
decai Lincoln of Coventry afores d . Ironmonger of 
the Second Part and William Branson of the City 
of Phila. Merch 1 . of the third Part In Manner 
following that is to say — 

Know all men by these Pres s that I Mordecai 
Lincoln of Coventry In the County Chester for 
and in Consideration of the Sum of Five Hundred 
Pounds of Current Lawful Money of America to 
me in Hand paid by William Branson of Phila. 
Merch*. The Receipt whereof I do hereby Ac- 
knowledge and thereof do Exonerate Acquit and 
for Ever Discharge the s d William Branson his 
Heirs For Ever have bargained sold remised re- 
leased and quitclaimed And by these Presents Do 
Bargain sell remise release and for Ever quit claim 
unto him the said William Branson his Heirs and 
Assigns for Ever all and Singular the one full un- 
divided third Part of One Hundred Acres of Land 
as also one full undivided third Part of six Acres 
of Land Together with all my Right Title Interest 
and Claim whatsoever of in or to the afores d un- 
divided Rights according to Articles of Aggreem 1 
made Between Samuel Nutt of the one Part and 
Mordecai Lincoln of the other part Together with 



24 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

all and Singular the Mynes and Minerals Forges 
Building Houses Lands Improvements whatsoever 
thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining to 
the only proper Use and Behoof of him the said 
William Branson his Heirs and Assigns for Ever 
in witness whereof I have hereunto Set my 
Hand and Seal the fourteenth Day of December. 
1725 mordecai Lincoln 

Sealed & Delivered 
In presence of 
Jona Robeson 
Jam Sheary* 

Recorded by John Kinsey Jan. 4 1744/5. 

The next reference to Mordecai Lincoln in Penn- 
sylvania is a deed of Richard Saltar to Mordecai 
Lincoln, dated May 26th, 1726. In this deed Mor- 
decai Lincoln is mentioned as "of the County of 
Chester in the prov'ce of Pensilvania." The docu- 
ment runs as follows: 

This Indenture Witnesseth That Richard 
Saltar of Frehold in the County of Monmouth 
& Prov ce of New Jersey Yeoman for and in Con- 
sideration of the full and Just sum of pounds 

in hand paid to the said Richard Saltar by Mor- 
decai Lincon of the County of Chester in the 
Prov ce of Pensilvania the Rec 1 whereof the 
said Rich d doth hereby Acknowledge and is there- 
with fully Satisfied Contented and paid & thereof 



* Power of Attorney D. 2. v. 2, p. 370, Department of 
Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, Pa. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 25 

and from every part & parcell thereof doth fully 
clearly and absolutely Aquit Exonerate and dis- 
charge him the said Mordecai Lincon his heirs and 
Assigns forever Hath granted Bargained and sould 
unto the said Mordecai Lincon his Heirs & assigns 
forever All that Tract of Land lying in the County 
of Midelsex in New Jersey aforesaid Beginning at 
a Black Oak Tree marked on four sides standing 
On the North side of a small slough or run w ch 
is on the North side of a Farm formerly W m 
Estell, from thence running North thirty nine de- 
grees westerly Seventeen chains to Matchaponix 
River thence down the same to the Mouth of a 
Brook which is One of Robt Barclays Corners & 
running from the first mentioned Black Oak Tree 
att the Beginning South forty eight degrees East- 
erly forty chains more or less to the reere Lines 
of s d Estills Farme thence along the same North 
& by East & half a point easterly to his corner 
where a small run comes into the brook thence 
down the Brook to the above named Barclays cor- 
ner On Matchaponix River — Which Tract of Land 
by Estimation One Hundred Acres more or less. 
To Have and To Hold the said Tract of Land 
with the appurtenances and privileges to the same 
belonging or in any wise apertaining to him the 
said Mordecai his heirs and assigns forever as 
fully & amply to all intents purposes & Construc- 
tions whatsoever as the same was made Over to 
the said Richard Saltar by deeds of Sale from 
Dugle Mackolom bearing date the fifteenth day 
of July Anno Q D Domini 1719 and not other- 
wise Jn Witness whereof J have hereunto Sett 



26 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

my Hand and Seale this Twenty sixth day of 
May Anno Q. Domini 1726. 

Richard Saltar (L. S.) 
Sealed & Delivered 
in the Presence of 
her 
Geo X Morlat 
mark 

Richard Saltar Jun 
Ebenezer Saltar 

April 5 th 1727 Then appeared before John An- 
derson Esq 1- One of his Majestys Council for the 
Province of New Jersey Richard Saltar Jun r who 
being solemnly Sworn on the Holly Evangelists 
of Almighty God did declare that he saw Rich- 
ard Saltar above Named execute the same as his 
Act and Deed. John Anderson Examined & 
agrees with the original the word (Lincen*) in 
the 11 th line underlined was by mistake in Re- 
cording. 

John Terrill Reg 

In the year 1730 Mordecai Lincoln acquired of 
Thomas Millard 303 acres of land (being a part of 
the thousand acres granted to Andrew Robeson Feb- 
ruary 20th, 1 718, willed by him to his son Jonathan 
Robeson, and granted by the last named to Thomas 
Millard, October 27th, 1729). 

The name of Mordecai Lincoln appears among 
the Justices of the Peace under date of March 5, 
*73 2 ' l 733, and Dec. 3, 1733. 

In 1735, Mordecai Lincoln's signature appears 

* Cf. Record in Lib. 30 or D. 3, 130, Trenton, N. J. 









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Will of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter, Pa. (First Page. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 27 

on the return of the reviewers of the road from 
Schuylkill to Oley, as may be seen in the papers of 
the Quarter Sessions of Philadelphia, 1735 and 1736. 

It is clear from these documents that Mordecai 
Lincoln migrated to Pennsylvania in or about the 
year 1720, that he was an ironmonger and bought 
land in that part of Pennsylvania where the iron 
industry was developing and where it has continued 
to flourish until the present day. He was thus fol- 
lowing the tradition of his father who began the 
iron industry in Massachusetts a generation before. 

Mordecai Lincoln made his last will and testa- 
ment February 22d, 1735. His signature was 
affirmed and sworn to by two of the witnesses, Sol- 
omon Coles and John Bell, June 7th, 1736, at which 
time the testator was evidently deceased. It is likely 
that he died late in May, 1736, as the will naturally 
would have been proven soon after the death of the 
testator. His mortal remains were buried in the 
Quaker burying ground, near Oley.* The text of 
the Will runs thus : 

Jn the Name of God Amen J Mordecai Lincon 
of Amity in the County of philad a in the province 
of pennsylv 3 - being sick and weak in body but of 
sound mind and Memory Do make this my last 
will and Testament in manner and form following 
revoking and hereby disanulling and making void 
all other and former Wills and Testaments by 
me made whether in word or Writing allowing 
this to be my last will and Testament and no other. 



* The Exeter Meeting is evidently meant. 



28 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Jmprimis it is my mind that in y e first place my 
Just debts be honiestly paid. 

Jtem J give and bequeath unto My son Mor- 
decai Linkon the half of my land scituate in amity 
and to his heirs and assigns forever 

Jtem J give and bequeath unto my son Thomas 
Linkon his heirs and assigns forever the one half 
of my Land in amity aforesaid. 

With this proviso that if my present wife Mary 
should prove with Child at my Decease and bring 
forth a son, then J order that y e said Land be Di- 
vided into three equall parts, And that Mordecai 
shall have y e Lower most or South East part, and 
Thomas the Middle most and the posthumus y e 
uper part : 

Jtem J give and bequeath unto my Daughters 
Hannah and Mary a Certain piece of Land at Mat- 
japonix allread settled on them by a deed of gift. 

Jtem J give unto my son John Lincon a Certain 
piece of Land Lying in the Jerseys Containing 
three hundred acres, and to his heirs and assigns 
forever. 

Jtem J give and bequeath unto my Two daugh- 
ters Anne & Sarah and to their heirs and assigns 
forever one hundred acres of Land lying at Mat- 
japonix in the Jersey, which Land J do order my 
Executrix herein after Named to sell and divide y e 
money equally between them. 

And J do hereby further order and appoint 
that if any one or more of my Children above 
named should happen to dye before they arrive 
to their full age then such share or shares of y e 



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Will of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter, Pa. (Second Page.) 
(Original in the City Hall, Philadelphia.) 









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Inventory of the Estate of Mondecai Lincoln, the Elder of 
Exeter, Berks County, Pa. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 29 

deceased shall be Equally Divided amongst y e 
surviving Children. 

Jtem J give and bequeath unto my beloved 
Wife Mary all y e residue or remainder of My 
Estate goods Chatties Quick & dead To be at her 
disposall, and Liberty to remain on My planta- 
tion] at Melar [ ?] Amity untill those my Chil- 
dren are at their severall ages, the better to enable 
my Wife to bring up all my Children without 
wasting or embezeling what I have left them. 

And J do hereby nominate and appoint my Wife 
Mary Lincon my whole and sole Executrix of 
this my last Will and testam[ent.] 

And my loving friends and Neighbours Jonathan 
Robeson and George Boone Trustees to assist my 
Executrix in & seeing this my Will and Testa- 
ment well and truely perform [ed] according to y e 
true Intent and Meaning thereof. 

The within named Mordecai Lincon did sign 
publish pronounce and declare that this present 
writing was his last will and Testament y e 22 
day of ffebruary A° Dom 1 1735 

Jn the presence of us Mordecai Lincon 

Jsrael Robeson 

Solomon Coles aff 7th June 1736 

John Bell Iur eod 

Philad a June 7th 1736. Then personally ap- 
peard Solomon Coles and John Bell two of the wit- 
nesses to the foregoing Will & the sd Solomon 
on his solemn affirmation & the sd John Bell 
on his Oath did severally declare they saw & 
heard Mordecai Lincoln Sign Seal publish and 



30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

declare the same Will to be his Last Will & Testa- 
ment and that at the doing thereof he was of 
sound mind Memory and understanding to the 
best of their knowledge. 

Coram Pet Evans Rec Gen 

The widow of Mordecai Lincoln transfered her 
power of attorney January 17, 1742, to her son- 
in-law, William Tallman, of Amity Township. This 
is the instrument : 

Know all Men by these presents that Mary 
Rodgers of Exeter in the County of Philad a in 
the Province of Pensylvania whole and Sole Ex- 
ecutrix of Mordecai Lincon my deceased Husband 
(by Virtue of his last Will and Testament were 
Jmpowered to make Sale certain Lands as by the 
said Will will at Large Appear) Know ye that I 
the said Mary Rodgers for divers Good causes 
and considerations me thereunto moving Have 
placed made Ordained Constituted & appointed, 
and in my stead and place have put and Authorized 
my son in Law William Tallman of Amity in the 
County aforesaid, yeoman, my True and Layfull 
Attorney for me and in my Name and to my use 
and Behoof, to Enter into all these Lands Con- 
taining One hundred Acres lying on Matjaponix 
in East Jersey with all their Rights members and 
appurtenances thereunto belonging to Enter all 
and every part & parcel thereof for me and in my 
Name to Survey and for me and in my name to 
bargain Sell Lease or grant to such person or per- 
sons & for such Estate for Life Inheritance or 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 3 1 

Otherwise & for Such Sum or Sumes of money 
as by my said Attourney shall be though [t] meet 
and requisite to the utermost & best comodity and 
profit of me, and deed and deeds of the same 
grants and Estates so to be made for me and in 
my Name to Seal and as my deed to deliver unto 
the parties to whome the same shall be so made, 
And Acquittances & other Discharges for me and 
in my Name to seal and deliver Hereby giving 
and granted unto my said Attourney my whole & 
full power and Authority in touching and concern- 
ing the premisses to do— Execute proceed and fin- 
ish in all things in as Large and Ample manner 
and form as J myself might or Ought to do if J 
were personally present, And Ratifying & allow- 
ing whatsoever my said Attorney shall Lawfully 
Act and do according to the True Jntent & meaning 
of these presents, Jn Witness whereof J have here- 
unto set my hand & Seal the 17th day of January 
A . D°. 1742. 

Mary Rogers (ss) 
Sealed and delivered 

in the presence of us 
Geo : Boone — Roger Rogers 

Be it Remembered that On the 17th day of Jan- 
uary 1742. before me George Boone Esq 1 " One of 
his Majesties Justices of the peace for the City 
& County of Philad a came Mary Rodgers and 
acknowledged the within power of Attourney to 
be her deed — Witness my hand y e day of Year 
above written. 

Geo: Boone (ss) 



32 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



CHAPTER III. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Abraham Lincoln, the brother of Mordecai, also 
migrated to Pennsylvania and settled in Springfield 
Township, Chester County, in or about the year 
1729, and died there in 1745. He was a blacksmith 
as well as a yeoman. The following records, refer- 
ring to him, have been found in the documents still 
extant. 

Abraham Lincoln or "Lincon" is mentioned as 
one of the 22 Jurors in the General Quarter Sessions 
of the Peace, of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 
Nov. 22, 1720. With Robert Lawrence and Cor- 
neles van Horen he made an inventory of Peter 
Gordon's personal estate May 13, 1725.* 

The first appearance of Abraham Lincoln's name 
in Pennsylvania is found in a deed issued by Thomas 
Williams, of Freehold, New Jersey, to "Abraham 
Lincon of Springfield, in the County of Chester and 
province of Pennsylvania" under date of January 
16, 1729. From this document we learn that Abra- 
ham Lincoln by a "bargain of Sale" for one year 
had already occupied the tract in question which 
was situated on Crum Creek. It would thus appear 
that Abraham Lincoln moved to Pennsylvania in 
January or March, 1728, as we may suppose his 
occupancy followed quickly upon the "bargain of 

* Cf. New Jersey Archives, First Series xxiii, p. 190. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 33 

Sale" which seems to have been dated January 15th, 
1728. The deed, recorded in West Chester, Pa., 
runs as follows : 

"This Indenture made the Sixteenth day of 
Ianuary in the Year of our Lord one Thousand and 
Seven hundred and Twenty nine (thirty) Between 
Thomas Williams of freehold in the County of 
Monmouth and Prov e of New Jersey Yeoman of 
the one part and Abraham Lincon of Springfield 
in the County of Chester and province of Pennsyl- 
vania Yeoman of the other part Witnesseth that 
the said Thomas Williams for an in Considera- 
tion of the sum of Three hundred and Twenty 
pounds Lawful money of America to him in hand 
paid by the s d Abraham Lincon the receipt where- 
of is hereby acknowledged and thereof doth 
acquit & forever Discharge the said Abra- 
ham Lincon his heirs and assigns by these pres- 
ents Have Granted bargained sold aliened enfe- 
offed released & Confirmed and by these presents 
do grant bargain sell alien en feoff e release and 
Confirm unto the said Abraham Lincon his heirs 
& assigns all that Tract of Land Situate in Spring- 
field aforesaid Containing three hundred acres 
withe allowances of Ten acres on the hundred 
all the Messuage or Tenement & Plantation thereon 
Beginning at a White Oak standing bv Crum 
Creek thence north fifty five degrees Easterly by 
Bartholomew Coppocks land three hundred and 
sixty seven perches to a Post thence south Thirty 
five degrees Easterly by Thomas Taylors land one 
hundred and Twenty eight perches to a Black Oak 
thence south fifty-five degrees West by George 



34 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Lowns Land four hundred and Twenty Seven 
perches to Crum Creek thence along the said Creek 
on the Several Courses thereof To the place of Be- 
ginning Containing three hundred and Thirty acres 
Together with all the Houses out Houses Edi- 
fices Buildings Gardens orchards mines minerals 
Wods undwoods Medws [sic] Marshes Swamps 
criples ways waters waterCourses fishings fowlings 
haukings Huntings Rights Libertys Priviledges Im- 
provements hereditaments & apurtenances whatso- 
ever thereunto belonging or in any wise appertain- 
ing of all which said Land and premises hereby 
Granted with their appurtenances the said Abra- 
ham Lincon is now in actual Possession by force 
and Virtue of a bargain and Sale to him thereof 
made by the said Thomas Williams for the Term 
of one Year as by an Indenture in that behalf 
made bearing Date the day next before the day 
of the date hereof may apear and the Reversions 
and remainders rents Issues and profits thereof 
and all Deeds Writings and Evidences whatsoever 
Concerning the same To Have & to Hold the said 
Messuage or Tenement Plantation and three hun- 
dred and Thirty acres of land and premises hereby 
Granted or mentioned so to be with their Appur- 
tenances unto the said Abraham Lincon and his 
heirs to the only proper use and behoof of the 
said Abraham Lincon his heirs and assigns for- 
ever under the Yearly Quitrent hereafter accru- 
ing to the Lord of the fee thereof and the said 
Thomas Williams & his heirs the s d Messuage or 
Tenement three hundred and Thirty acres of Land 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 35 

Hereditaments and premises hereby Granted with 
their Appurtenances unto the said Abraham Lin- 
con his heirs and Assigns against him the said 
Thomas Williams, and his heirs & against him the 
said Thomas Williams [any] persons whomsoever 
Lawfully Claiming or to Claime by from or under 
him or his heirs shall and will Warant and Defend 
forever by these presents and the said Thomas 
Williams for himself and his heirs doth Covenant 
Promise and Grant to and with the said Abraham 
Lincon his heirs & assigns by these presents 
Thatt he hath in himself Good rightfull Lawful 
and Absolute Power and Authority to Grant bar- 
gain sell & Convey all the said Messuage or Tene- 
ment Plantation land & premises hereby Granted 
with their Appurtenances unto the said Abraham 
Lincon his heirs and assigns in manner aforesaid 
and thatt the said Abraham Lincon his heirs and 
assigns shall or Lawfully may from time to time 
and at all times hereafter forever freely quietly & 
peaceably have hold Occupy Possess and Enjoy 
the s d Mesuage Plantation Land and premises and 
every part thereof with the Appurtenances & re- 
ceive and Take all the rents Issues and profits 
thereof without any manner of Lett Suit Trouble 
or Molestation whatsoever by any person or per- 
sons whomsoever and also that the said Mesuage 
land and premises with their appurtenances now 
are and from time to time forever hereafter shall 
remain Continue and be unto the said Abraham 
Lincon [and] his heirs free and Clear and freely 
and clearly aquited and discharged of & from all 



36 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

and all manner of former & other bargains Sales 
Gifts Grants Jointures Devises Mortgages Intails 
Rents Arrearages of Rents [ ?] little charges or In- 
cumbrances whatsoever the proprietors Quitrents 
hereafter acrueing for the same only Excepted and 
lastly that he the said Thomas and his heirs and 
assigns and all and every other person & persons 
Whomsoever Lawfully Claiming or to Claim the 
said Messuage Land and premises hereby Granted 
shall and will from time to time and at all times 
hereafter upon the request Cost and Charge in the 
Law of the said Abraham Lincon his heirs or as- 
signs make do Execute and Acknowledge or Cause 
so to be all & every such further and other reason- 
able act & acts Deed or Deeds Device or Devices 
in the Law for the further and better assuring and 
Confirmation of the said Messuage Land & Plan- 
tation hereby Granted with their appurtenances 
unto the said Abraham Lincon his heirs and as- 
signs as by him or them or by his or their Counsel 
Learned in the Law shall be reasonably Devised 
advised or Requred [sic] 

In Witness whereof the said Thomas Williams 
hath hereunto set his hand and affixed his Seal the 
day & Year first abov Written. 

Thomas Williams (Seal) 

Sealed and Delivered 
by the said Thomas 
Williams in the pres- 
ence of 

Robert Lawrence 
John Coward — 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 7,? 

Be it Remembered the fourteenth day of Sep- 
tember 1747 Before me Benjamin Shoemaker Esq r 
one of the justices &c personally Came and ap- 
peared William Lawrence of the City of Philadel- 
phia Merchant and the within Written Indenture 

his 
subscribed Thomas (X) Williams to Seal & 

mark 

with the names Rob 4 Lawrence & John Coward 
&c." 

[W. Lawrence attested the signature of his father 
Robert and the deed was recorded Aug. 22, 1785.] 

This same year, 1729, and later, we find the name 
of Abraham Lincoln among the taxables of Chester 
County, as the following excerpts from the originals 
show : 

1729 Springfield 

Abraham Lincon 14 s. d. 

1730 Springfield 

Abraham Lincon 12 s. d. 

The name Abraham Lincoln continues to be 
written this way until 1739, when we have the fol- 
lowing entry : 

1739 Springfield 
Abraham Linghorn 

1740 Springfield 
Abram Lincoln 

Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield, before migrat- 
ing from New Jersey, owned two considerable tracts 
of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey, as may 
be seen from the land records. One of these tracts, 



38 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

containing 240 acres, was granted to him by Safety 
Borden, February nth, 1722, and the other tract, 
containing 200 acres, was granted him by Abraham 
Vanhorn, March 25th, 1725. After purchasing the 
tract in Springfield Township, on Crum Creek, from 
Thomas Williams, Lincoln sold both of the above 
tracts in East Jersey to Thomas Williams, April 29, 
1730, for the sum of 590 pounds. The following 
deed relates the brief title and sets forth the condi- 
tions of sale: 

This Indenture, Made the Twenty ninth day 
of April in the third Year of the Reign of Our 
Sovereign Lord George the Second by the Grace 
of God of Great Britain France & Ireland King, 
Defender of the Faith &c. Anno Domini One 
Thousand Seven hundred & thirty Between Abra- 
ham Lincon of the County of Monmouth in the 
Eastern Division of the Province of New Jersey 
Blacksmith of the one part And Thomas Wil- 
liams of the Same County Yeoman of the other 
part Witnesseth that the said Abraham Lincon 
for & in Consideration of the Sum of Five Hun- 
dred & Ninety Pounds Current Money of the Said 
Province to him in hand Paid before the Enseal- 
ing & Delivery of these Presents by him the said 
Thomas Williams the Receit whereof he the Said 
Abraham Lincon doth hereby acknowledge & him- 
self to be therewith fully & Entirely Satisfied 
Contented & Paid & thereof & of & from every 
Part & parcel thereof Doth fully clearly & abso- 
lutely Acquit Exonerate & Discharge him the 
Said Thomas Williams his Heirs Executors Ad- 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 39 

ministrators & Every of them forEver by these 
presents Hath granted bargained & Sold Aliened 
enfeoffed & Confirmed And by these Presents 
Doth fully clearly & absolutely Grant Bargain 
& Sell Alien en feoff e Release Convey & Con- 
firm unto him the Said Thomas Williams his 
Heirs & Assigns forEver All those two Tracts 
of Land Scituate Lying & Being near Cross- 
weeks in the County aforesaid herein after Abut- 
ted Bounded & Described Viz : All that Tract of 
Land which was Granted & Confirmed unto him 
the Said Abraham Lincon by deed from Safety 
Borden bearing date the Eleventh day of Febru- 
ary Anno Domini 1722 Containing Two Hundred 
& forty Acres be the Same more or less Begin- 
ning at a Stake Standing in the Clear Land, which 
is a corner of Benjamin Bordens Land Twenty 
five Chains from Burlington Path & Ten Chains 
Eastward of the Land in possession of Richard 
Borden & Running North North West Twenty 
three Chains Sixty five Links to the South East 
Corner of Abraham Vanhorns Land And from 
said Beginning Stake Running North Seventy 
Seven Degrees Easterly Forty & two Chains, Then 
South East to Burlington Path & North Easterly 
along the Path to the Pines & following the Pines 
to the corner of John Limings Land Then South 
Seventy Seven Degrees West along said Limmings 
line to the above named Vanhornes land and 
following said Vanhornes lines to the South 
East Corner of his Land as above mentioned 
Bounded North Westwardly by Vanhorns & 
Limmings Land South Westwardly by Benja- 



40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

min Bordens Land South Eastwardly partly by 
Benjamin Borden & partly by Burlington Path 
North Eastwardly by the Pines And also All that 
tract of Land which was granted & Confirmed 
to him the Said Abraham Lincon by Deed from 
Abraham Vanhorn bearing Date the Twenty fifth 
day of March Anno Domini 1725 Containing Two 
Hundred Acres — Beginning at a stake Standing 
in the rere of the Lott of Land formerly Job 
Throckmortons of which Lott this Two Hundred 
Acres is part, which Stake Stands Ten Chains 
from the South Westernmost Corner of the Said 
Lott & from thence running South South East 
Fifty One Chains & thirty five Links Thence North 
Seventy Seven Degrees Easterly Thirty One 
Chains & twenty Links to the Line of Land lately 
Sold to James Borden, Thence North North West 
Eleven Chains & an half to a Maple Tree 
by a Brook marked on four sides Thence up the 
said Brook Ten Chains & forty Links to where the 
Line of the said Land sold to James Borden cross- 
es said Brook Thence North North West Thirty 
seven Chains & one Rodd Thence South seventy 
seven Degrees Westwardly Forty two Chains to 
the Place where it Began Bounded Southerly Ten 
Chain short of the Land on which Richard Bor- 
den formerly lived, Easterly by the first above- 
mentioned Tract of Land Northerly by the Land 
Sold to James Borden Westerly by the Rere Line 
of said Lott Together with all & all manner of 
Housings Buildings Edifices Structures Barns 
Stables Orchards Fencings Feedings Improve- 
ments Pastures Meadows Woods Trees Waters 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 41 

Brooks Springs Ponds Pools Pits Easements Pro- 
fits Commodities Royalties Liberties Advantages 
Emoluments Hereditaments & Appurtenances 
whatsoever To the said Two Tracts of Land Be- 
longing or in any manner of Ways thereunto Ap- 
pertaining And also all the Estate Right Title 
Interest Possession Property Claims & Demand 
whatsoever of him the said Abraham Lincon & 
his Heirs as well in Law as in Equity of in or unto 
the said Two Tracts & Granted & Bargained Prem- 
ises with the Appurtenancies with the Reversion & 
Reversions Remainder & Remainders thereof & 
of every part & parcel thereof as fully & amply to 
all Intents Constructions & Purposes whatsoever 
as the same was Granted & Confirmed unto him 
the said Abraham Lincon in & by the two Deeds 
before mentioned Relation to the Same being had 
more fully & at large may Appear To Have and 
to Hold the said Two Tracts of Land & Granted 
& Bargained Premises with all & singular the 
Rights Members & Appurtenances to the same be- 
longing unto him the said Thomas Williams his 
Heirs & Assigns for Ever To the only proper 
Use Benefit & behoof of him the said Thomas 
Williams his Heirs & Assigns for Ever Yeild- 
ing & Paying therefore Yearly and Every Year 
hereafter unto the said Abraham Lincon his 
Heirs & Assigns for Ever as an Acknowledg- 
ment for the first mentioned Tract of Land upon 
the Feast of St. Michael the Arch-Angel the 
Sum of One Penny good & Lawful Money, 
when the same shall be legally Demanded upon 
the Premises And he the said Abraham Lin- 



42 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

con for himself his Heirs Executors & Admin- 
istrators Doth Covenant Promise Grant & Agree 
to and with him the said Thomas Williams 
his Heirs & Assigns by these presents in man- 
ner & form following Viz*: That at the time 
of the Sealing & Delivery hereof he the said Abra- 
ham Lincon is Lawfully Seized of the Said Two 
Tracts of Land as above bounded & all & singular 
& every the Premises & Appurtenances thereof of 
a good, sure, pure, perfect & absolute Lawful 
Indefeazable Estate of Inheritance in the Law, 
in his proper Demesne as of Fee without any Con- 
dition or Limitation of any Use or Uses Estate or 
Estates in or to any person or persons whatsoever 
so as to Alter Change Charge Defeat Determine 
or make Void the Same, or any part thereof And 
that he the Said Abraham Lincon hath in himself 
good Rightfull Power and absolute Lawful Au- 
thority to Grant Bargain & Sell the same & 
Every part thereof unto him the Said Thomas Wil- 
liams his Heirs & Assigns for ever in manner 
aforesaid And that the same now is free & from 
time to time & at all times hereafter Shall remain 
& be free & clear to him the Said Thomas Wil- 
liams, his Heirs & Assigns for Ever from all & 
all manner of former & other Gifts Grants Bar- 
gains Sales Leases Mortgages & of & from all- 
other Titles Troubles Charges Demands & Incum- 
brances whatsoever had made Committed done or 
suffered to bedone by him the Said Abraham Lin- 
con or any other Person or Persons whatsoever by 
from or under him so as to Alter Change Charge 
Defecit or make Void this Same. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 43 

His Rents or Services that for the last men- 
tioned Tract Shall become due to the Lords Pro- 
prietors only Excepted And Further he the Said 
Abraham Lincon for him-self his Heirs Executors 
& Administrators Doth hereby Covenant Promise 
Grant & Agree the Said Two Tracts of Land & 
Granted & Bargained Premises with the Appur- 
tenances unto him the Said Thomas Williams & 
his Heirs & Assigns, against him the Said Abra- 
ham Lincon & his Heirs & all & Every other 
Person or Persons whatsoever lawfully laying 
claim to the same or to any part or parcel thereof 
shall & will Warrant & for Ever by these Pres- 
ents Defend In Witness whereof he the Said 
Abraham Lincon hath hereunto Set his hand & 
Seal the day and year first above written 

Abraham (L. S.) Lincon 

The written within Instrument 
Sealed & Delivered in the presence of 
Benj. Price Law r Smyth 

An old document, the petition of Mordecai Tay- 
lor of the township of Springfield for a tavern 
license, contains the signature of Abraham Lincoln. 
This petition sets forth so vividly the primitive con- 
ditions of the Great Road leading from Darby to 
Springfield in 1743, that it is printed here: 

Chester Co. To his Majesties Justices of the 
peace at the Court of General Quarter Sessions 
held at Chester the 31st day of August Annoq 
Domini 1743 — 

The Petition of Mordecai Taylor of the Town- 
ship of Springfield — 
Humbly Sheweth 



44 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

That whereas your Petitioner living on the Great 
Road leading from Darby to Springfield & so 
into Conostogoe Road being a Commodious place 
for a House of Entertainment and no Tavern 
being within four Miles of him, And Travellers 
daily travelling that Road And People going back 
and forward sometimes Twenty or Thirty Wag- 
gons of a Day And Calling at your Petitioners 
House, which is a great Trouble & Expense to Yo r 
Petit 1 " Therefore he prays that your Honours 
would be pleased to grant him a Recommendation 
to the Governor for a Lycence Accordingly And 
your Petit 1 " as in duty bound shall ever pray 

Mordecai Taylor. 

We whose names are hereunto subscribed being 
well Acquainted with the above Petitioner believe 
him to be a suitable person to keep a Public house 
of Entertainment And prays that You would be 
pleased to grant him a Recommendation to the 
Governor for a Lycence Accordingly 

B Davis Joseph Powell Jos : Levis 

Thomas Taylor Bartholomew Coppock 

John Owen Mordecai Massey '"Vn^Jl-Cyt , 

Jn° Levis James Rhoades 

Abr m Lincon John Rhoads 

M Maddock Thomas Fall 

James Crozer Joseph Maris 

Jno Gibbons Bernhard Van Leer 

Jos. Harvey Jsaac Collier * 



* From the collection of Mr. Gilbert Cope, who kindly 
furnished the writer with a photograph of the Petition. 




''/• : V^'W/^, //£/,, 



«t £4L 



I y.«**M y<.,,,, J£M £% ,//;.../. 'I/-,,./ , 

1 $?~ ^ ;; ' g -fy^' 1 ' '•■';•/, 




















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YiJisJty 









Petition for Tavern License, Showing Signature of Abraham 

Lincoln, of Springfield. 
(Original in the Possession of Mr. Gilbert Cope.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 45 

In the year 1744 Abraham Lincoln, of Spring- 
field, bought property in Elbow lane in the city of 
Philadelphia, from William Clare and from John 
Clare and John Clare's sister, Esther. In his will 
Lincoln mentions a property bought of Humphrey 
Clase (Classe) in the same city. In the deeds to the 
y-y Clare properties, Lincoln is spoken of as "Yeoman 
of Springfield, Chester County." The relation of 
Humphrey Clase in the transaction appears in the 
deeds which follow. The deed of William Clare 
conveying this portion of the tract in question and 
received from the estate of his father (William 
Clare, deceased), here follows in its essential parts: 

This Indenture Made the Twenty Ninth day 
of March in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and forty four Between William 
Clare of the City of Philadelphia in the Province 
of Pennsylvania Cordwainer of the one part and 
Abraham Lincon of Springfield in the County of 
Chester Yeoman of the other part Whereas in and 
by certain Indentures of lease and release bearing 
date respectively the twenty third and twenty 
fourth days of June 1720 made between Joshua 
Carpenter of the said City Gentleman and Eliza- 
beth his wife of the one part and John Rakestraw 
of the same City Carter and Ruth his wife of the 
other part he the said Joshua Carpenter and Eliz- 
abeth his wife did for the considerations therein 
mentioned grant release and confirm unto the said 
Iohn Rakestraw and Ruth his wife A Certain 
piece or parcel of ground situate lying and being 



46 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

in Philadelphia aforesaid Containing in front or 
breadth on Elbow Lane thirty seven feet and in 
length forty four feet Bounded northward with 
Elbow Lane aforesaid Eastward with George Em- 
len's lot Southward by the back of Chesnut Street 
lots and westward with other ground of the said 
Joshua Carpenter with its appurtenances to hold 
to them the said Iohn Rakestraw and Ruth his 
wife their heirs and assigns forever Yielding and 
Paying yearly and every year unto the said Ioshua 
Carpenter his heirs and assigns the rent or sum of 
two pounds nine shillings and four pence lawful 
money of America at the rates appointed by the 
late Act of Parliament for ascertaining the rates 
of foreign coin in the Plantations of America * * 
[recital of earlier title] ******** 
Now this indenture witnesseth that for and 
in consideration of the sum of fifty pounds law- 
ful money of the Province aforesaid unto the said 
William Clare party thereto well and truly paid 
by the said Abraham Lincon at or before the seal- 
ing and delivery of these presents the receipt 
whereof is hereby acknowledged and thereof doth 
acquit and forever discharge the said Abraham 
Lincon his heirs executors and administrators for- 
ever he the said William Clare party hereto Hath 
granted bargained sold released and confirmed 
and by these presents Doth grant bargain sell re- 
lease and confirm unto the said Abraham Lincon 
in his actual possession now being, and unto his 
heirs and assigns All that the said westernmost 
tenement new erected on the said piece of ground 
before described on the south side of Elbow Lane 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 47 

Containing thirty seven feet by forty four with a 
proportionate part of the said piece of ground 
thereunto belonging ********* 
In Witness whereof the said parties to these 
presents have hereunto interchangeably set their 
hands and seals the day and year first above 
written 

William Clare (Seal) 
Sealed and Delivered 
in the Presence of us 

Harry Travers Ioseph Breintnall 

[Signature of Grantor acknowledged March 30 
1744. Recorded April 29 1835] 

The deed* of John Clare and Humphrey Clase (the 
husband of John Clare's sister Esther) conveying the 
shares of John and Esther to Abraham Lincoln ex- 
plains the appearance of Humphrey Clase in the 
transaction, and shows that Abraham Lincoln, of 
Springfield, bought at least three of the four shares 
of the tract of ground left by William Clare, Sr., to 
his four children, George, William, Jr., John and Es- 
ther (who married Humphrey Clase) : 

This Indenture Made the nineteenth day of 
November in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and forty four Between John Clare 
of the City of Philadelphia Cordwainer and Abigal 
his wife and Humphrey Classe of the said City 



* Deed Book 60, p. 601 ft, City Hall, Philadelphia. 



48 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Mariner and Esther his wife (sister of the said 
Iohn Clare) of the one part and Abraham Lincon 
of Springfield in the County of Chester Yeoman 
of the other part Whereas in and by a certain 
Indenture of lease and release bearing date the 
twenty third and twenty fourth days of Iune one 
thousand seven hundred and twenty made between 
Ioshua Carpenter of the said City Gentleman and 
Elizabeth his wife of the one part and Iohn Rake- 
straw of the said City Carter and Ruth his wife 
of the other part he the said Ioshua Carpenter and 
Elizabeth his wife for and in the Consideration 
therein mentioned did grant release and Confirm 
unto the said Iohn Rakestraw and Ruth his 
wife A Certain piece or parcel of land situate 
lying and being in Philadelphia aforesaid Con- 
taining in breadth upon Elbow Lane thirty 
seven feet and in length forty four feet Bounded 
northward with Elbow Lane aforesaid east- 
ward with George Emlen's lot southward with 
the back of Chestnut Street lots and west- 
ward with the other ground of the said Ioshua 
Carpenter with the appurtenances to hold to them 
the said Ioshua Rakestraw and Ruth his wife their 
heirs and assigns forever Yielding and paying 
yearly and every year unto the said Ioshua Carpen- 
ter his heirs and assigns the rent or sum of two 
pounds nine shillings and four pence lawful money 
of America at the rate appointed by the late act of 
Parliament for ascertaining the rates of foreign 
coins in the Plantations in America on the twenty 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 49 

fourth day of Iune yearly forever with clauses of 
reentry and distress for non payment And Where- 
as in and by a certain Indenture bearing date the 
first day of July 1721 (And Recorded at Phila- 
delphia in Deed Book vol 2 page 204 &c) made 
between the said Iohn Rakestraw and Ruth his 
wife of one part and William Clare of the said 
City Cordwainer father of the said Iohn Clare of 
the other part they the said Iohn Rakestraw and 
Ruth his wife for the consideration therein men- 
tioned did grant release and confirm unto the said 
William Clare his heirs and assigns all that the 
above mentioned and described piece or parcel of 
land with a certain messuage or tenement there on 
built and erected by the said Iohn Rakestraw To- 
gether also with all and singular other the build- 
ings improvements ways alleys passages waters 
water courses rights easements rights liberties 
privileges hereditaments and appurtenances what- 
soever thereunto belonging and the reversions and 
remainders rents issues and profits thereof and 
all the estate right title interest use possession 
property claim and demand of them the said Iohn 
Rakestraw and Ruth his wife of in and to the 
hereby granted premises and true copies of all 
deeds evidences and writings concerning the prem- 
ises to be had and taken at the proper costs and 
charges of the said William Clare his heirs or 
assigns which last recited Indenture contains a 
covenant on the part of the said William Clare his 
heirs and assigns well and truly to pay and dis- 
charge yearly forever the said rent of two pounds 



50 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

nine shillings and four pence And Whereas the 
said William Clare after having built and erected 
another messuage or tenement on the said de- 
scribed lot of ground made his last will and testa- 
ment bearing date the seventeenth day of the 
fourth month one thousand seven hundred and 
thirty two wherein he disposed of his estate in the 
world viz. I give and bequeath unto my beloved 
wife Esther Clare all my real and personal estate 
goods and chattels whatsoever to have the full 
and free use of them during her life and after her 
decease to be divided equally amongst all my chil- 
dren Item I make my aforesaid wife full and 
sole executrix of this my last will and testament 
And Whereas the said Executrix survived the said 
testator some time and is since deceased and there 
upon the children namely George Clare William 
Clare Iohn Clare and Esther Clare by Indenture 
bearing date the Sixteenth day of October 1742 
and then intended to be recorded [Recorded in 
Book 9 Vol. 5 page 10 1 &c] and an amicable par- 
tition and division of the said Estate whereby it 
was agreed among other things that the said Iohn 
Clare and his said sister Esther shall hold enjoy 
and have the Easternmost which is the largest of 
the two tenements erected on the said piece of 
ground of thirty seven feet in breadth by forty 
four feet in length with a proportionable part of 
the same piece of ground Together with the ap- 
purtenances which Easternmost Tenement and the 
ground thereto belonging are bargained and sold 
and intended to be hereby conveyed unto the said 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 51 

Abraham Lincon his heirs and assigns. Now this 
indenture witnesseth that the said Iohn Clare and 
Abigail his wife and Humphrey Clase and 
Esther his wife for and in consideration of the 
sum of one hundred and twenty pounds lawful 
money of Pennsylvania to them in hand paid and 
secured to be paid the receipt whereof is hereby 
acknowledged Have and each of them hath 
granted bargained sold released and confirmed and 
by these presents Do and each of them Doth 
grant bargain sell release and confirm unto the 
said Abraham Lincon and to his heirs and assigns 
All that the said Easternmost tenement and the 
ground thereunto belonging situate on the South 
side of Elbow Lane as aforesaid Together with all 
the ways alleys waters water courses rights [ ?] 
easements rights liberties privileges hereditaments 
and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any 
wise appurtaining and all the estate right title in- 
terest use possession property claim and demands 
of them the said grantors or either or any of them 
of in or to the hereby granted premises and true 
copies of all deeds evidences and writings concern- 
ing the same to have and to hold the said Eastern- 
most tenement situate on the south side of Elbow 
Lane and a proportionable part thereto belonging 
of the said lot of ground of thirty seven foot by 
forty four foot hereditaments and premises hereby 
granted or mentioned or inteded to be granted 
with the appurtenances unto the said Abraham 
Lincon and his heirs to the use and behoof of the 
said Abraham Lincon his heirs and assigns forever 



52 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Subject to a proportionable part of the said recited 
rent of two pounds nine shillings and four pence 
And the said Iohn Clare and Abigail his wife and 
Humphey Clase and Esther his wife the hereby 
granted premises against them and each of them 
and all persons lawfully claiming under them unto 
the said Abraham Lincon his heirs and assigns 
shall and will warrant and forever defend by these 
presents And the said Iohn Clare for himself his 
heirs executors and administrators and for the 
said Abigail his wife and the said Humphey Clase 
for himself his heirs executors and administra- 
tors for the said Esther his wife do respectively 
covenant promise and grant that they the said Iohn 
Clare and Abigail his wife and Humphey Clase and 
Esther his wife shall and will at any time or 
times hereafter at the reasonable request cost and 
charges in the law of the said Abraham Lincon his 
heirs or assigns make execute and acknowledge 
or cause so to be all and every such further and 
other reasonable act and acts deed or deeds device 
or devices in law for the further and better assur- 
ance and confirmation of the said tenement and 
proportionable piece of ground hereditaments and 
premises hereby granted as mentioned to be grant- 
ed with the appurtenances unto the said Abraham 
Lincon his heirs and assigns (under the propor- 
tionable part of rent aforesaid) as by him or them 
or his or their counsel learned in the law shall be 
reasonably devised advised or required In Wit- 
ness whereof the said parties to these presents have 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 53 

hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals 
the day and year first above written 

Esther Classe (Seal) 

Humphrey Classe (Seal) 

Iohn Clare (Seal) 

Abigail Clare (Seal) 

Sealed and Delivered in 

the Presence of us 
Jos Howell Joseph Brentnall 

The Twentieth day of November 1744 

Before me Joshua Maddox Esquire one of the 
Iustices &c came the within named Iohn Clare and 
Abigail his wife and Humphey Classe and Esther 
his wife and acknowledged the with in written 
Indenture to be their and each of their act and 
deed and desired the same may be recorded And 
the said Abigail and Esther being of full age and 
apart examined willingly consented. 

Witness my Hand and seal the day and year 
aforesaid 

Recorded April 29th 1835 

Josh. Maddox (Seal) 

Abraham Lincoln made his will April 15, 1745. 
He died a very few days later, for the inventory is 
dated April 30, 1745. Both the will and the inven- 
tory are interesting documents and shed much light 
upon the history of this branch of the family. Abra- 
ham bequeathed his estate as follows : 



54 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

J Abraham Lincon of Springfield in the County 
of Chester in the Province of Pensilvania Black- 
smith being sick and weak in body but of well dis- 
posing mind and Memory Praise be given to Al- 
mighty God therefore but in Consideration of the 
Uncertainty of this Mortal state and not knowing 
how it may please the Lord to deal with me at 
this time do make and Ordain this my last Will 
and Testament in Manner and form following 
First and Principally I recommend my Soul into 
the hands of God that gave it and my body I com- 
mit to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like 
and decent manner at the discretion of my Execu- 
tors and as Touching such worldly Estate as it 
hath pleased the Lord to bestow upon me I give 
and dispose thereof as followeth Imprimis my 
will is that in the first place all my Just debts and 
funeral Expenses be duly paid and discharged 
Item I give to my son Iohn all and singular the 
Land and Premises with the Appurtenances / it 
being part and parcel of the Plantation whereon 
I now dwell / Lying on the North East side of the 
Road leading to Chester to hold to him my said 
son Iohn his Heirs and Assigns for ever but if my 
son Iohn should happen to dye before he Attains 
to the age of Twenty one Years then my will is 
and I give all the said Land unto my son Abraham 
his Heirs and Assigns forever Item I give and de- 
vise unto my son Iacob all the Residue of this my 
Plantation Situate on the South West side the 
Road aforsaid with all and Singular the Ap- 
purtenances to Hold to him my said son Iacob his 
Heirs and Assigns for ever Provided also and 
Upon Condition Nevertheless that my son Iacob 



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The Will of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield. 
(Original in City Hall, Philadelphia.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 55 

Builds a Brick dwelling House for the Use of my 
son Iohn at some Convenient place on the 
land devised to my son Iohn as aforsaid at 
some time within the Term of Ten Years after the 
date of this my Will which House shall be Seven- 
teen foot Square from out to out Cellar'd Under 
and Carried Up two story high with a Cedar 
Roof and Windows Suitable to the Building Item 
I give and devise Unto my son Mordecai if he 
Returns into this Province within the Term of 
Seven Years Next after my decease all that Mes- 
suage or Tenement which I purchased of William 
Clayer Situate in the City of Philadelphia to hold 
to him my said son Mordecai his Heirs and As- 
signs forever but if it should so happen that my 
son Mordecai shall not Return before the expira- 
tion of the Term aforsaid then my will is and I 
do give the said Messuage or Tenement Unto my 
son Isaac his Heirs and Assigns forever Provided 
Nevertheless that my son Isaac pay or cause to 
be paid Unto my son Mordecai if in Case he Re- 
turnes at any time after the Seven Years aforsaid 
the sum of ffive Pounds of Law full money of 
Pensilvania Item I give devise and bequeath Unto 
my daughter Rebecca my other Messuage or Tene- 
ment in the City of Philadelphia / Ioyning to the 
other before mentioned / which I Purchased of 
Humphry Clase and Iohn Clayor to hold to her 
my said daughter Rebecca and to the Law full heirs 
of her body for ever but if she should happen to 
dye before the Age of Twenty one Years or with- 
out Issue then my will is and I give the said Mes- 
suage or Tenement Unto my son Isaac his Heirs 



56 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

and Assigns for ever Item I give Unto my daugh- 
ter Sara my best feather bed with furniture as also 
the one half part of the Linnen Usually kept in 
my large chest Item I give Unto my son Abraham 
the sum of Thirty Six Pounds which I lent him 
some time since and further my will is that all 
the Residue of my Estate after debts and Funeral 
Expenses paid as aforsaid and Sufficient for the 
Maintenance of my son John Untill he Arrives to 
the Age of Fourteen Years / as well Real as Per- 
sonal whatsoever and wheresoever I give Unto my 
two sons / to witt / Abraham and Isaac to be di- 
vided in two Equal parts or portions share and 
share alike and I Nominate Constitute and Ap- 
point my two friends / to witt / Robert Taylor of 
Marple in the County of Chester aforsaid and 
Ioshua Thompson of Ridley in the County afor- 
said Executors of this my last will and Testament 
and I Revoke disanul and make void all and 
every other will and wills by me at any time here- 
tofore made and do Ratifie & Confirm this and no 
other to be my Last Will and Testament In Wit- 
ness whereof I have hereunto sett my hand and 
seal this ffifteenth day of April in the Year of our 
Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and fforty 
ffive. — Abraham Lincon 

Signed Sealed Published and delivered by Abra- 
ham Lincon the Testator to be his last will and 
Testament in the Presence of Us. 

Emanuel Lownes aff 

John morton Jur 24 April 1745 

Jsa. Pearson affirm 



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Inventory of the Estate of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 57 



CHAPTER IV. 

CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OF SPRINGFIELD 
TOWNSHIP, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

The records contain important traces also of the 
children of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield, Ches- 
ter County, Pennsylvania. As we have seen from 
the will of Abraham, he left the following children: 
Mordecai, Abraham, Isaac, John and Sarah. Mor- 
decai is mentioned in the will as absent from home, 
John and Sarah as minors. The testator seems par- 
ticularly solicitous about his young son, John, as 
may be seen in the wording of the special provisions 
of the will in his case. One can read between the 
hues the father's anxiety as to the boy's reaching 
his maturity. In case he grows to manhood, the 
testator directs that a proper house be constructed 
for his son John. The specifications as to the size 
and quality of this house are very precise. It must 
be seventeen feet square, two stories high, and have 
a cedar roof. 

The first document so far found referring to 
Abraham Lincoln, the son of Abraham of Spring- 
field, is a deed dated May i, i 744 , i n which John 
Fordham and his wife Hannah, of the city of Phila- 
delphia, convey a piece of ground on the north side 
of Jones' alley, in the city of Philadelphia, to "Abra- 
ham Lincon of the same city cordwainer." That this 
Abraham was not the Abraham of Springfield, but 



58 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the son of the latter, is clear from the fact that he 
is called "cordwainer" and mentioned as living in 
Philadelphia. This is further corroborated by a 
deed of "Abraham Lincon cordwainer" to "Isaac 
Lincon Carpenter" dated May 1, 1745, after the 
death of Abraham of Springfield. The deed of 1744 
runs thus : 

This Indenture Made the first Day of May 
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun- 
dren and forty four. Between John Fordham late 
of the City of Philadelphia but now of the Island 
of Jamaica Upholsterer, and Hannah Fordham of 
the City of Philadelphia aforesaid Wife of the 
said John Fordham. of the one part and Abraham 
Lincoln of the same City Cordwainer of the other 
Part. 

Whereas Abraham Bickley late of Burlington in 
the Western Division of the Province of New Jer- 
sey. Merchant deceased Father of the Said Han- 
nah Ford — by his Last Will and Testament in 
Writing duly executed bearing Date the thirteenth 
Day of October in the Year of our Lord one 
thousand seven hundred and Twenty five did Give 
& Bequeath unto his Daughter Hannah, divers 
Lands Tenements & Hereditaments (of which the 
Piece of Ground herein after particularly men- 
tioned & described is Part) To hold to the said 
Hannah, her Heirs & Assigns for ever. Under the 
yearly Quitrent & Reservations accruing to the 
Proprietor for the same as by the said Will since 
duly proved Reference being had thereto more 
fully may appear. [Here follows Letter of 
Attorney] 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 59 

And whereas the said Hannah Fordham hath 
by Virtue of the said Letter of Attorney from the 
said John Fordham her Husband as well as in her 
own Right contracted and agreed with the said 
Abraham Lincon for the Sale of the Fee Simple 
and Inheritance of the said Piece of Ground 
herein after particularly described Subject to the 
Rent herein after mentioned and to indemnify the 
same And the said Abraham Lincon his Heirs Ex- 
ecutors and Administrators of and from the Pay- 
ment of the said Mortgage Money and Every 
Part thereof. 

Now this Indenture Witnesseth that now in Pur- 
suance of such Agreement as aforesaid And for 
and in Consideration of the Payment of the Rent 
and Performance of the Covenants hereinafter 
reserved and contained on the Part and Behalf of 
the said Abraham Lincon his Heirs and Assigns 
to be paid done and performed They the said 
John Fordham by his said Attorney the said Han- 
nah his Wife have granted bargained sold released 
and confirmed and by these presents do grant bar- 
gain sell release and confirm unto the said Abra- 
ham Lincon His Heirs and Assigns all that Piece 
of Ground situate on the North side of Jones's 
Alley in the City of Philadelphia aforesaid con- 
taining in Front on the said alley thirty three feet 
and Seven Inches and extending back or North- 
ward Thirty Foot Bounded Eastward with other 
Ground of the said John Fordham and Hannah 
his Wife now in the Possession of George Hard- 
ing Southward with the said Alley. Westward with 
other Ground of the said John Fordham, and 



60 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Hannah his Wife and Northward with the Ground 
formerly belonging to James Porbuee * * * 
Yielding and Paying heretofore unto the said John 
Fordham and Hannah his Wife and to his Heirs 
and Assigns of the said Hannah the yearly Rent 
or Sum of Seven Pounds Ten shillings and nine 
Pence lawful money of the Province of Pennsyl- 
vania aforesaid on the first day of May in each 
vc3.r for ever ^ ^ ^ ^ 

And also that the said Abraham Lincon his 
Heirs or Assigns shall & will within the space of 
Two Years next ensuing the Date, hereof, at 
his and their own proper Costs and Charges 
cause to be erected built and finished in or upon 
the said hereby granted Piece of Ground and 
Premises one good Tenantable Dwelling House of 
Brick or Stone two Stories High above ground 
with a cellar under the same. * * * [Re- 
corded April 10, 1767.] 

Another important document bearing upon the 
sons of Abraham Lincoln, of Springfield, is a deed 
of mortgage dated September 14, 1747, in which 
"Jacob Lincon, of Kingsess [ing], in the County of 
Philadelphia Sithemaker and Anne his Wife and 
Abraham Lincon of the City of Philadelphia, cord- 
wainer" mortgage Jacob Lincoln's plantation in 
Springfield township to Jacob Duche for the sum of 
200 pounds. The text of the document follows : 

"Be it Remembered that the fourteenth Day of 
September Anno Dom 1747 the Mortgage here- 
after mentioned was produced Before Thomas 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 6l 

Greene Esq 1 " one of the Provincial Iudges and 
thereupon Came Jacob Lincon and Anne his Wife 
and Abraham Lincon who acknowledged the s d 
Writing to be their Deed and Desired y e same 
might be recorded the s d Anne thereunto Volun- 
tarily Consenting she being of full age Secretly 
and apart Examined and the contents of y e s d 
Writing read unto her w ch said Mortgage is re- 
corded in y e Office for recording of Deed in y e s d 
County the Thirtieth Day of October Anno Dom 
1747 in these Words (viz) 

This Indenture made the fourteenth Day of 
September in the Year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and forty seven Between Jacob 
Lincon of Kingsess in the County of Philadel- 
phia Sithemaker and Anne his Wife and Abraham 
Lincon of the City of Philadelphia Cordwainer 
of the one part and Jacob Duche of the City of 
Philadelphia Merch* of the other part Whereas 
the s d Jacob Lincon in and by a Certain Obligation 
or Writing Obligatory under his hand and seal 
bearing Even Date herewith standeth Bound unto 
the s d Jacob Duch'e in the sum of Two hundred 
Pounds Law full money of Pennsylvania condi- 
tioned for the Payment of one hundred pounds 
Lawful money aforesaid Together with Lawfull 

Interest for y e same in manner following, to say 

* * * 

Ye said Jacob Lincon and Anne his Wife and 
Abraham Lincon * * * Have Granted Bar- 
gained sold released and Confirmed and by these 
Psents [sic] do Grant Bargain Sell release and 
Confirm unto y e s d Jacob Duch'e and to his heirs 



62 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

and assigns All that his y e s d Jacob Lincon's Mes- 
suage Plantation and Tract of Land thereunto Be- 
longing Situate in Springfield Township in y e 
County of Chester Lying on the South West side 
of y e road Leading from Springfield Meeting 
House to the Burrough of Chester & Lying be- 
tween the s d road & Crum Creek and extending 
from the said Creek by Bartholomew Coppocks 
Land North fifty five Degrees Easterly to the 
afores d road and from y e said Road to the 
s d Creek south fifty five degrees West by George 
Lownes Land Containing one hundred and eighty 
acres or there about be the same more or less 
(which Abraham Lincon y e farther of y e s d 
Abraham and Jacob Parties hereto by his Last 
Will and Testament of the 15th Day of April 
1745 Devised unto this s d son Iacob in free * * *" 
[Recorded in the Court House, West Chester 
Pa.] 

An indenture, dated February 14, 1754, informs 
us concerning a third son of Abraham Lincoln, of 
Springfield, namely, Isaac Lincoln, who with his 
wife, Mary, conveyed to George Westcott of the 
same city, brazier, a certain piece of ground willed 
by Abraham Lincoln of Springfield to his son Isaac, 
and situated on the south side of Elbow lane. This 
same document gives important information as to 
Mordecai Lincoln, the absent son of Abraham of 
Springfield. It appears here that Mordecai did not 
return within the seven years allowed by the will, nor 
at any time afterwards up to the date of this deed, 
a period of nearly ten years. Thus the property 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 63 

willed to Mordecai was divided between Abraham 
and Isaac Lincoln, as directed by their father's will. 
The text of the indenture follows below : 

This Indenture Made the Fourteenth day of 
February in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven Hundred and fifty four Between Isaac Lin- 
con of the City of Philadelphia Carpenter and 
Mary his wife of the one part and George Wescott 
of the said City Brazier of the other part Whereas 
in and by a certain Indenture bearing date the 
twenty ninth day of March in the Year 1744 be- 
tween William Clare of the said City of Philadel- 
phia Cordwainer of the one part and Abraham Lin- 
con of Springfield in the County of Chester Yeo- 
man who was the father of the said Isaac Lincon 
of the other part reciting as therein is recited he / 
the said William Clare for the consideration therein 
mentioned did grant release and confirm unto 
the said Abraham Lincon A Certain messuage or 
tenement and lot or piece of ground situate in 
the City on the South side of Elbow Lane &c. * * 
* * and the said Abraham being so thereof 
seized and did make his last will and testament in 
writing bearing date the fifteenth day of April 1745 
and therein divided All that messuage or tenement 
which he purchased of William Clare situate in the 
said City unto the said testators son Mordecai if he 
returned into the Province of Pennsylvania within 
the term of seven years to hold to him the said 
Mordecai his heirs and assigns forever But if it 
should happen that his son Mordecai shall not re- 
turn before the expiration of the term of seven 



64 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

years aforesaid then the testators will is and he 
doth give the said Messuage & testament unto 
his said son Isaac his heirs and assigns for- 
ever Provided nevertheless that his son Isaac 
pay or cause to be paid unto the said Mor- 
decai if in case he returns at any time after 
the seven years aforesaid the sum of five pounds 
lawful money of Pennsylvania as [at?] in and 
by the said last recited Indenture and last will 
relation being thereunto had respectively ap- 
pears and shortly after the making of the tes- 
tament aforesaid he the said testator died And 
the said Mordecai did not return into the said 
Province within the term aforesaid limited nor at 
any time since So that the estate in the premises 
is vested in the said Isaac Lincon as divided by 
the Instrument aforesaid Subject nevertheless to 
the payment of the said five pounds unto the said 
Mordecai if in case he shall hereafter arrive in 
the said Province Now this indenture witnes- 
seth that the said Isaac Lincon and Mary his wife 
for and in consideration of the sum of sixty five 
pounds lawful money of Pennsylvania unto them 
well and truly paid by the said George Wescott 
* * * do bargain sell * * * A certain 
piece of ground being the westermost part of the 
aforesaid thirty seven foot * * * bounded 

northward with Elbow Lane &c * * * 

Isaac Lincon 

Mary Lincon 

[Receipt also signed by same 

Acknowledged Feb 14, 1754 

Recorded Apr. 29, 1835] 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 65 

John Lincoln, the young son of Abraham Lincoln 
of Springfield, died without issue and his land passed 
to Abraham, his brother, and was divided by him, 
Abraham, between his daughters, Rebecca and Hes- 
ter. Rebecca married James Carter, a merchant of 
Philadelphia, and Hester died young. 

Isaac Lincoln, the son of Abraham of Springfield, 
married Mary Schute December the 30th, 1746. 
Jacob Lincoln, son of Abraham of Springfield, mar- 
ried Ann Rambo, June, 1747. Jacob died June 5, 
1769, aged 44 years, and was buried at Kingsessing 
Swedes Church. 

In Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia (O. S. C. 
P.), First Baptist Church, Philadelphia (F. B. C. 
P. ) , St. Michael's and Zion Churches, and in Christ 
Church, Philadelphia (C. C. P.), we find the follow- 
ing records of Lincoln marriages, which we arrange 
here in chronological order, with the reference to 
the church in parenthesis : 

Lincoln, Daniel, and Mary Medley, June 2, 1742 

Lincon, Isaac, and Mary Shute, Dec. 31, 1746 
(C. C. P.). 

Jacob Lincoln and Ann Rambo, June 1747. Jacob 
died June 5 1769 aged 44 years, buried 
at Old Swedes, Kingsessing. Anne died 
Feb. 8, 1 8 19, aged 94 years, buried at 
same place. 

Children: Moses, Catarina (b. June 16. 1751), 
John (b. Feb. 1, 1756, m. Elizabeth Neal 
or O'Neal Oct 8, 1781), Rebecca (b. 
Dec. 11, 1757), Mary (b. Aug. 17, 
^63) > Jacob (b. Apr. 1766). 



66 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Lincon, Rebecca, and Joseph Rush, Sept. 19, 1750 

(C. C. P.). 
Lincoln, Rebecca, and James Carter, Mar. 7, 1763 

(F. B. C. P.). 
Lincoin, Margaret, and James Gregory, July 17, 

1769 (C. C. P.). 
Lincon, Sarah, and Samuel Pastorius, Nov. 28, 

1771 
John Linkhorn and Elizabeth O'Neal Oct. 8, 1781 

(O. S. C. P.). 
Barbara Kinch 
Lincorn, Elizabeth, and John Hart, July 7, 1791 

(O. S. C. P.). 
Lincoln, Jacob, and Mary Taylor, April 11, 1792 

(O. S. C. P.). 
Lincoin, Moses, and Barbara Kinch, Mar. 19, 

1795 (O. S. C. P.). 

Lincoln, Benjamin, and Ann Cowan, May 19, 
1806 (C. C. P.). 

The Parish Register of Christ Church, Philadel- 
phia, contains the following : 

"Christenings 1735 Aug 3. Mordecai Son of Ab- 
raham and Rebecca Lincoln age 15 
years" 
"1748 April 13 Lincoln, negro slave of Robert 

Grove adult" 
"1749 Feb. 11 John son of John & Catharine Lin- 
coln born Dec br 17. 1749" 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 67 



CHAPTER V. 

CHILDREN OF MORDECAI LINCOLN OF EXETER. 

Having followed the traces of Abraham Lincoln 
of Springfield and his children in the counties of 
Chester and Philadelphia, we return to Mordecai 
Lincoln of Exeter and trace his family in Berks 
County, Pennsylvania, and in Virginia and Ken- 
tucky, down to Abraham Lincoln, the President of 
the United States. 

It will be remembered that Mordecai Lincoln of 
Exeter, Pennsylvania, son of Mordecai of Hull, 
Massachusetts, provided in his will for three sons, 
Mordecai, John and Thomas, and conditionally 
for a posthumous child. This posthumous child, as 
the documents will show, was born Oct. 18 (O. S.), 
or Oct. 29 (N. S.), 1736, after his father's death, 
named Abraham and received his share of his 
father's estate in accordance with the provisions of 
the will. Mordecai of Exeter made his surviving 
wife, Mary, his executrix and appointed his friends, 
Jonathan Robeson and George Boone, to assist her 
in settling the estate. 

MORDECAI LINCOLN, SON OF MORDECAI OF EXETER. 

The earliest references to Mordecai Lincoln, son 
of Mordecai of Exeter, show him to be unmarried. 



68 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



In the tax lists of Berks County his name appears 

as follows: 

£ £ s d Township 
Single 1754 Mordecai Lincoln 9 Exeter 



Married 



1757 


Marthicai Lingcoln 












and half tenement 


20 






Exeter 


1758 


Mordecai Lincoln 












Tent y 2 


20 






Exeter 




Special Assessment 












for the same year 


10 








1759 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


10 


15 




Exeter 


1759 


Mordecai Lincoln 
(County Tax) 


12 








1760 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


15 






Exeter 


1761 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


15 


3 


9 


Exeter 


1763 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


22 


5 




Exeter 


1765 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


21 ] 


11 


6 


Exeter 


1766 


Lincoln, Mordecai 


18 


4 


6 


Exeter 



The name of Mordecai Lincoln (or "Lincorn") 
appears frequently in the old manuscript account 
book kept by Abraham Lincoln, his brother, from 
1755 to 1778. On the first page of this book is 
written: 

Abram Lincoln | Beginning to Doy et at] Mor- 
decai Lincorns y e 21 th of y e third month| In the 
year 1757. 

The following entries appear at different times 
during this year 1757 and later: 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 69 

Mordecai Lincoln D r | to four Days mak- 
ing Shingels 
Mordecai Lincoln | to two days and a x / 2 

Reaping £0 5s 6d 

Mordecai Licln to one days work 020 

Mordecai Lincoln for one days work 020 
Mordecai Lincoln to one days work 020 

and cash [ ?] 

Mordecai Lincoln to one y 2 days work 010 
Mordecai Lincoln to 2 A of a days work 016 
Mordecai Lin [coin] to work 
Mordecai Lincoln to 3 days and a half 

work 070 

Mordecai Lincoln to One days sawing Jn 

exchange of Work 
Mordecai Lincoln to Cash 020 

1759, May Mordecai Lincoln to a Half a 

bushel of flax sade 026 

June Mordecai Lincoln to three Bushel 

of Buck Wheat 6 

1770 April y e 10 th C r 
Mordecai Lincoln 
C r by work at the Rase 
apil [sic] 10 th by 2^ days work 
April y e 14 th no [=anno] 1770 Cr by work 

on the Rods 
Mordecai Lincoln 1 hand 
Mordecai Lincoln Mikel Syser & Jacob 
Battle is to Maintane two Thirds of y e 
Rase from y e first of march to the Six- 
teenth of October yere af ter yer 
1778 October Cr by work dune at the Ras 
24 th Mordecai Lincoln 1 hand 



yO ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

1779 

April 3 

Mordeca [sic] two hand one d day & Self prt" 

The land records of Berks County contain refer- 
ence to a number of transactions of Mordecai Lin- 
coln, as the following list will show : 

Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, Oct. 16, 1766, Grantee William 

Tallman, Asst, book 6, page 330. 
Grantee Mordecai Lincoln, Apr. 11, 1769, Grantors Abra- 
ham et al., Exeter, book 14, page 543. 
Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, Apr. 11, 1769, Grantee Jacob 

Bechtel, Exeter, book 14, page 545. 
Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, Apr. n, 1769, Grantee Michael 

Seyster (= Zeister), Release, book 15, page 5. 
Grantee Mordecai Lincoln, May 9, 1769, Grantors Thomas 

and Abraham Lincoln, Exeter, book 11, page 307. 
Grantors Mordecai & Abraham Lincoln, May 16, 1770, 

Grantee Michael Zeister, Exeter, book 6, page 504. 
Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, Mar. 29, 1773, Grantee Mary 

Rogers, Sch. River, book iB, page 535. 
Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, May 22, 1784, Grantee Jno. 

Spohn, Exeter, book 9 ,page 54. 
Grantor Mordecai Lincoln, Oct. 30, 1784. Grantee Henry 

Huyett, Ex. Com. Bk. P., book 1, page 163. 
Grantors Mordecai Lincoln et al., July 4, 1789, Grantee 

Rebecca Nagle, Exeter, book 12, page 4. 

There is a reference to Mordecai Lincoln in the 
deed books of Berks County, Pennsylvania, show- 
ing that he and his wife, Mary, conveyed to Mary 
Rogers, of Reading, a certain property originally 
belonging to the estate of his father Mordecai Lin- 
coln of Exeter. The deed which is dated March 
29, 1773, begins and ends as follows: 

This Indenture Made the 29th day of March 
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun- 
dred and seventy three Between Mordecai Lin- 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION Jl 

coin of Exeter Township in Berks County and 
Province of Pennsylvania Yeoman and Mary his 
Wife of the one part and Mary Rogers of the 
Town of Reading in y e County and province 
aforesaid Widow of the other part [Here fol- 
lows the recital of the title, the essential part of 
which runs : "And the said Thomas Millard and 
Barbara his Wife by Jndentures of Lease & re- 
lease bearing date the 9 th & 10 th days of May 
Anno domini 1730 did grant and Confirm the 
same One Thousand acres of land and premises 
unto the said Mordecai Lincoln the Elder in fee 
[then follows the recital of the will of Mordecai 
Lincoln of Exeter, "the elder" and the conditions 
of sale by Mordecai Lincoln (Junior) and his 
wife Mary to Mary Rogers] 

her 
Mary M Lincoln (Seal) 

mark 
Mordecai Lincoln (Seal)* 

In the Account Books of John Harris we find this 
interesting entry : 

1785 Linkhorn in Town Dr. £ s d 

June I st To Sundries brought from 

Folio 169 687 

To 27 Bundles Rye Straw Lent 
May 21 1790 Reed the opposite acco 1 in full £6.8.7. 

This was evidently Mordecai Lincoln, son of 
Mordecai of Exeter, who appears in a deed dated 
July 4, 1789, as a resident of Dauphin County, Pa. 
Mordecai settled later in Fayette County, Pa. 

* Cf. Deed Book I. B., 535 et seq., Reading, Pa. 



7 2 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

THOMAS LINCOLN, SON OF MORDECAI OF EXETER. 

The second son of Mordecai Lincoln, the elder, 
of Exeter, was Thomas Lincoln, who took a promi- 
nent part in the affairs of Berks County, Pennsyl- 
vania. His name appears in the early tax lists 
with the following assessments : 

Berks Co. Tax List £ £ s. d. Township 

1757 Thomas Lingorn 6 Amity 

1758 Thomas Lincoln 16 4 Exeter 

1758 Thomas Lincoln 15 

his Tennant 5 

20 1 10 Exeter 

1759 Lincoln Thomas 7 10 6 Reading 

1759 Lincoln Thomas 15 126 Exeter 

1760 Tho' Lincoln 9 Reading 
1760 Lincoln Thomas 6 9 Reading 

In 1758 he was made sheriff of Berks County, a 
fact which strangely enough escaped the officials of 
the same county some years ago, when they had the 
calendar of sheriffs printed, but omitted the name 
of Thomas Lincoln. The present writer had the 
peculiar pleasure of rediscovering Sheriff Thomas 
Lincoln and identifying his signature in old lists of 
jurors returned by him while sheriff. The original 
bond given by Thomas Lincoln, as newly elected 
Sheriff to the King, is duly recorded* and may be 
reprinted here as a document of interest : 

Know all Men by these Presents that We 
Thomas Lincoln of Exeter Township in the 

*In Commission Book A No. 2, p. 268-9. (Department 
of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, Pa.) 



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Bill of Costs of Executing Elisabeth Crowl. 
(Original in the Possession of Louis Richards, of Reading, Pa.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 73 

County of Berks Esq r Jsaac Levan of Ex- 
eter aforesaid Gent, and William Boone of the 
same place Gent, are held and firmly bound unto 
our Sovereign Lord George the second by the 
Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ire- 
land King Defender of the Faith &c a in the Sum 
of three hundred Pounds Current Money of Penn- 
sylvania to be paid to our said Sovereign Lord the 
King his Heirs or Successors to which Payment 
well and truly to be maide We do find our Selves 
each and every or any of Us for and in the Whole 
our each and every or any of our Heirs Execu- 
tors and Administrators respectively Jointly and 
Severally firmly by these Presents Sealed with 
our Seals Dated the fifth Day of October in the 
thirty second year of the Reign of our said Lord 
the King & in the Year of our Lord one thousand 
and seven hundred and fifty-eight. 

The Condition of this obligation is such That 
Whereas the above bounden Thomas Lincoln on 
the second Day of October Jnstant was Elected 
Sheriff for the said County of Berks for the en- 
suing Year by the Freemen of the said County 
according to an Act of Assembly of this Province 
passed in the fourth year of the Reign of Queen 
Ann entitled an Act for Regulating Elections of 
Sheriffs & Coroners As by a certain Jndenture 
bearing Date the second Day of October Jnstant 
made or mentioned to be made Between Thomas 
Lincoln Coroner of the said County of the one 
Part & Joseph Boone Sebastian Levan Mounce 
Jones Benjamin Talbert Ganis Dickinson & 
Henry Snyder Freeholders of the said County 



74 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

of the other Part Gentlemen Freeholders of the 
Said County of the other Part Relation bearing 
thereunto had appears now if the said Thomas 
Lincoln by himself or his Lawful Deputy shall 
and do well and truly perform his Duty & Trust 
in the said office of Sheriff when thereunto law- 
fully and thoroughly Qualified according to the 
Tenor of the Affirmation which he shall make 
for the due Execution of his said Office Or else 
to be and remain in full Force and Virtue to the 
Uses Jntents and Purposes in the said Act — men- 
tioned and appointed And to no other Use Jntent 
or Purpose whatsoever Thomas Lincoln (Seal) 
Jsaac Levan (Seal) Will m Boone (Seal) Sealed 
and Delivered in the Presence of Us C. Brockden, 
Rob 1 Harper. Acknowledged at Philadelphia the 
fifth day of October A°. D 1 . 1758 Before me W m 
Coleman, Recorded 6 th Day of October, 1758. 

The records of the Prothonotary's office in Read- 
ing contain many papers executed by Thomas Lin- 
coln during his term as sheriff. The accompanying 
list of jurors* and the very interesting case of the 
hanging of a woman, will serve as specimens, both 
of his work and of his signature. 

The following transactions of Thomas Lincoln 
appear in the land records of Berks County, 
Pennsylvania : 

* The "List of Jurors" was found by the co-operation of 
the Prothonotary and his aides. The original of the execu- 
tion account is in the possession of Louis Richards, Esq., of 
Reading, President of the Bucks County Historical Society, 
who kindly permitted the writer to have it photographed. 



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List of Petit Jury Returned by Thomas 
Lincoln, Sheriff of Reading, Pa. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 75 

Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Dec. 29, 1757, Grantee William 

Tallman, Schuylkill, book 6, page 327. 
Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Feb. 15, 1759, Grantee Richard 

Wistar, Hereford, book 5, page 373. 
Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Nov. 4, 1760, Grantee Michael 

Zeister, Exeter, book 2, page 178. 
Grantee Thomas Lincoln, Sept. 9, 1761, Grantor Hans 

Adam Epler, Reading, book 9, page 435. 
Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Nov. 14, 1761, Grantee Adam 

Scheier, Reading, book 3B, page 265. 
Grantee Thomas Lincoln, May 14, 1762, Grantor David 

Henderson, Reading, book 4, page 265. 
Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Nov. 28, 1763, Grantee Jacob 

Rowbold, Reading, book 9, page 437. 
Grantor Thomas Lincoln, Mar. 14, 1764, Grantee Conrad 

Bower, Reading, book 4, page 267. 
Grantee Thomas Lincoln, May 4, 1774, Grantor Mary 

Rogers, Discharge, book iB, page 536. 

The following document gives us a specimen 
of the business transactions of Thomas Lincoln, 
Sheriff: 

To all People to whom these Presents shall 
come I Thomas Lincoln late Sheriff of the County 
of Berks in the province of Pennsylvania send 
Greeting Whereas by a writ of Fieri Facias to 
me directed bearing Teste the Fifteenth Day of 
February in the Thirty second Year of the King's 
Reign (1759) issuing out of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas of the County aforesaid I was Com- 
manded That of the Goods and Chattels Lands 
and Tenements which were of Rudolph Berkey 
late of the said County Yeoman deceased other- 
wise lately called Rudolph Pierge of Maxataneya 
twship Philadelpa County Yeoman at the Time of 



j6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

his Death in the hands of Richard Wistar late 
of my County Merchant Acting Executor of the 
last Will and Testament of the said Rudolph 
Berkey in my Bailiwick I should Cause to be 
levied as well a Certain Debt of One Thousand 
Pounds lawful Money of Pennsylvania * * * * 
Now Know ye that I the said Thomas Lincoln 
late Sheriff of the County of Berks aforesaid for 
and in consideration of the aforesaid Sum of One 
thousand and Ten pounds unto me well and truly 
paid by the said Richard Wistar at and before 
the ensealing and delivery hereof the Receipt 
whereof I do hereby Acknowledge and thereof do 
Acquit and for ever discharge the said Richard 
Wistar his Heirs Executors and Administrators 
by these presents have granted bargained Sold 
Aliened released and Confirmed And by force and 
Virtue of the last recited Writ and of the Laws 
of this province in such Case made and provided 
do grant bargain sell alien release and Confirm 
unto the said Richard Wistar and to his Heirs and 

Assigns All those the above described Messuage * 

*************** 

In the deed of Thomas Lincoln to Michael Zeister 
we have important information of Thomas Lincoln's 
land : 

This Jndenture made the fourth Day of No- 
vember in the Year of Our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and sixty Between Thomas Lin- 



* Deed Book 5, p. 373 et seq., Recorder's Office, Read- 
ing, Pa. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION yj 

coin of the Town of Reading in the County of 
Berks in the Province of Pennsylvania Esquire 
and Elizabeth his Wife of the one part And 
Michael Zeister of the same Place Sadler of the 
other part Witnesseth that the said Thomas Lin- 
coln and Elizabeth his Wife for and in Consid- 
eration of the Sum of one thousand pounds law- 
ful Money of Pennsylvania to them in hand paid 
by the said Michael Zeister the receipt whereof 
is hereby acknowledged have given granted ali- 
ened released enfeoffed and confirmed and by 
these presents do give grant bargain and sell 
alien release enfeoff and confirm unto the said 
Michael Zeister and his heirs a certain Tract and 
parcel of Land situated in Exeter Township in 
Berks County aforesaid Bounded by the follow- 
ing lines to wit * * * * thence by Land of Ab- 
raham Lincoln and other Land of the said Wil- 
liam Tallman * * * * Containing by Computa- 
tion three hundred and three acres be the same 
more or less [Being part of a Tract of one thou- 
sand Acres of Land which Tobias Collet Daniel 
Quair and Henry Goldey by Deed Dated the twen- 
tyeth day of February Anno Domini 171 8 granted 
to a certain Andrew Robeson in ffee And which 
the said Andrew Robeson by his Last Will 
devised to his son Jonathan Robeson in ffee 
* * * and which the said Jonathan Robeson 
by Deed Dated the twenty seventh day of Octo- 
ber Anno Domini 1729 granted to a certain 
Thomas Willard in ffee And which the said 
Thomas Millard by Deed dated dated the tenth 



78 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

day of May Anno Domini 1730 granted to Mor- 
decai Lincoln (the Father of the said Thomas 
Lincoln) in free One third part of which One- 
Thousand-Acre-Tract the said Mordecai Lincoln 
by his Last Will and Testament dated the twenty 
second day of February Anno Domini 1735 

Tho. Lincoln (Seal) 

Elizabeth Lincoln (Seal)* 

The following refer to sales of property made to 
or by Thomas Lincoln in Reading: 

This Jndenture Made the fourteenth Day of 
November in the year of our Lord one thousand 
Seven Hundred & sixty one Between Thomas Lin- 
coln of the town of Reading in the County of 
Berks and province of Pennsylvania Gentleman 
and Elizabeth his wife of the one part and Adam 
Scheir of the said town of Reading Carpenter of 
the other part Whereas the Hofible Thomas Penn 
& Richard Penn Esquires Proprietories in * * * * 
1752 did Give Grant Release and confirm unto a 
Certain Francis Morgan * * * * Lot of Ground 
situate in the Town of Reading aforesaid and 
Marked in the General Plan of the said Town 
N° 404 * * * * 

And Whereas the said Francis Morgan and 
Jane his wife by Deed indented under their Hands 
and Seals bearing date the thirteenth day of No- 
vember in the year of our Lord one thousand 



* Deed Book 2, 175 ff., in Recorder's office, Reading, Pa. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 79 

seven hundred and sixty one for the Considera- 
tion therein Mentioned did Grant and Confirm 
unto a Certain Thomas Lincoln and to his Heirs 
and Assigns All that the above Mentioned and 
Described Lot of Ground N° 404 With the Ap- 
purtenances &c* 

This Indenture made the Fourteenth Day of 
March in the Year of our Lord one Thousand 
Seven Hundred and Sixty four Between Thomas 
Lincoln of Reading in Berks County and Prov- 
ince of Pennsylvania Mason and Elizabeth his 
Wife of the one part And Conrad Bower of the 
same Place Inn Keeper of the other part &c.** 

[Consideration 130 pounds, 7^2 acres.] 

Thomas Lincoln appears also, even more fre- 
quently than Mordecai his elder brother, in the old 
Account Book of Abraham Lincoln, their youngest 

brother, as the following entries will show : 

£ s d 
1756 Thomas Lincoln to 3 days work at 

2 s Pr day 060 

Thomas Lincoln C r by one Quir 

and a y 2 of Paper 010 

Tho s Lincoln to one day and a half 030 
Tho s Lincoln fife days and a halfs 

work Dt o 11 o 

Tho s Lincoln to one weeks Work o 12 o 
Tho s Lincoln to one day and ^2 

halfs work o 7, o 



* Deed Book 3 B, pp. 265 et seq. 
** Deed Book 4, pp. 267 et seq. 



80 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Tho s Lincoln to one days work 020 
Tho s Lincoln Dt for work 010 

Tho s Lincoln to Cash Lent o ? ? 

Tho s Lincoln dt upon Ballans 

March y e first 007 

Tho s Lincoln to sawing 6 foot 013 
1758 Tho s Lincoln to sawing 5 days at 
s d 
at 2.. 6 per Day o 12 6 

Decmbr 30 Tho s Lincoln to one 

half Days work 010 

Jany Tho s Lincoln to one 

Days wriding [writing?] 026 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, SON OF MORDECAI OF EXETER. 

The third son of Mordecai Lincoln, the elder, of 
Exeter, was John Lincoln, or "Virginia John," as 
tradition has handed down his name. Inasmuch as 
it is through him that the migration of the Lincoln 
family is continued into Virginia and in his descend- 
ants to Kentucky, it will be more convenient to treat 
him last and to consider his youngest brother, Abra- 
ham, next before leaving the traces of the family in 
Pennsylvania. 

The records of Abraham Lincoln, the posthumous 
son of Mordecai the elder, of Exeter, and his de- 
scendants are preserved fortunately in an old family 
book, or "Lincoln Record," as we shall call it 
here. This book, still preserved in manuscript, is 
one of the precious heirlooms of the descendants of 
Abraham Lincoln. The MS. contains, in the first 
part, the record of the family of Abraham Lincoln 















£T ■♦ 








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7&S x 















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First Page of the Account Book of Abraham Lincoln, of Exeter 
(Original in the Possession of Richard Lincoln, of Reading, Pa. I 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 8l 

and, in the second part, the record of the Boone 
family.* The Record appears to have been first 
kept by posthumous Abraham Lincoln, then by 
his sons Mordecai and Thomas, and then by Thomas' 
son, John D. Lincoln and others. It was copied some 
years ago by Harrison P. Lincoln, who had blue 
prints made and furnished a number of them to 
libraries and individuals. 

The Lincoln Record is very precise in its data as 
the entries, concerning Abraham Lincoln and Anna 
Boone, his wife, will show. The text of the Lincoln 
part of the "Lincoln Record" is printed in full at the 
end of this chapter. 

The name of Abraham Lincoln, the posthumous 
son of Mordecai, the elder, of Exeter, like that of 
his brothers, appears in the tax lists of Berks County 
Pennsylvania, as the following, taken from the orig- 
inals, now found in the possession of the Berks 
County Historical Society, will show : 

writing o ?Z e LhZL eC * d 0i , ^ B ?,° ne fanii] y in the hand- 
in ^4^^t^^ T ^^^jjfz gss 

eS y n«lT 1Cal S ° Ciety - ft C0 "^" S thefollowSg FnTer- 

C tob?r.l el D.T 7 n 3 e 3 . [SOn ° f SqUlre & SaraH B °° ne] WaS born 

He and the Rest of their Family left Exeter nn th» r at 
1750, and moved to North Carolina where they settled pX 
at Present he ,s settled on the Ohio at Kentucky 7 '^ But 

Time. 7 t0bCr 2 °- The " Daniel came to ^e us. the first 

Wife 7 ftiSr r Son y Mt, TI \ Cn Daniel B °° ne < with Re becca his 
V^^M^J'^^^^, ^ « Charette 



82 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



£ £ 


s. d. ' 


Township 


1758 Abraham Lincoln 






[Single Men] 


1 




(Special Assessment) 






1759 Lincoln Abram 




Exeter 


1759 Abram Lincorn 






[Single Men] 






1760 Lincoln Abram 18 1 


7 


Exeter 


1 76 1 Lincoln, Abram* 


9 


Exeter 


1763 Lincoln Abram 20 


5 


Exeter 


1765 Lincoln Abraham 19 1 


8 6 


Exeter 


1766 Lincoln Abram 18 


4 6 


Exeter 



The following entries of transactions of Abraham 
Lincoln appear in the land records : 

Grantor Abraham Lincoln, Dec. 29, 1757, Grantee William 

Tallman, Sch. River, book 2B, page 43. 
Grantors Abraham Lincoln et al., Apr. 11, 1769, Grantee 

Mordecai Lincoln, book 14, page 543. 
Grantors Thomas and Abraham Lincoln, May 9, 1769, 

Grantee Mordecai Lincoln, Exeter, book n, page 307. 
Grantor Abraham Lincoln, May 26, 1769, Grantee William 

Tallman, Exeter, book 7, page 195. 

The first of these documents gives such important 
information that it seemed well to print it here. 
From it we learn the title to the land before Morde- 
cai, the elder, of Exeter bought it, and also the fact 
that Abraham Lincoln was the posthumous son of 
Mordecai, the elder : 



* This assessment was probably made in 1760, as the 
Lincoln Record says Abraham Lincoln married Anna Boone 
July 10, 1760. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 83 

This Indenture Made the twenty ninth day of 
December in the Year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and fifty seven Between Abraham 
Lincoln of Exeter in the County of Berks In the 
Province of Pennsylvania Yeoman of the one part 
and William Tallman of the same place Weaver 
of the other part Whereas by Certain Indentures 
of Lease and Release dated the Nineteenth and 
Twentieth days of February in the Year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred & Eighteen 
made between Tobias Collet Citizen and Haber- 
dasher of London Daniel Quair of London and 
Henry Goldney of London Linnen Draper of one 
part and Andrew Robison then of Roxburrow in 
the County of Philadelphia Yeoman of the Other 
part and Recorded in Philad a . in Book H Coll. 4. 
page 118 & they the said Tobias Collet Daniel 
Quair, and Henry Goldney for the Consideration 
therein Mentioned Confirmed unto the said An- 
drew Robison in free A Certain Tract of Land 
Lying on the East side of the River Schuylkill in 
Philadelp a . County Beginning at a Beech tree by 
the said River Schuylkill and Running thence 
North twenty degrees East four hundred and 
twenty Perches to a Corner Stone thence North 
Seventy degrees West ffour hundred and twenty 
perches to a post then South Twenty Degrees West 
two hundred and Ninty Perches to a Hickery Tree 
marked Standing on the Bank of the said River 
then down the same on y e Several Courses thereof 
to the place of beginning Containing one thousand 
Acres of Land [and a Certain Tract of Six Hun- 



84 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

dred Acres Lying on the West Side of Schuylkill 
with the Appurtenances] The said Two Tracts of 
Land to be holden by the said Andrew Robison 
his heirs and Assigns Under the Yearly Quit Rent 
of one Bever Skin on the first day of March for- 
ever and the said Andrew Robison being So 
Seized of the said Premises Dyed did by his Last 
Will and Testament bearing date Anno Domi 1719 
Give unto his third Son Jonathan Robison the 
above Described one thousand Acres of Land with 
y e Appurtenances And Whereas Andrew Robison 
Eldest Son and heir at Law of the said Andrew 
Robison the Testator in and by a Deed Poll under 
his hand and Seal duly Executed for y e Consid- 
eration Therein Mentioned did Grant Release Quit 
Claim and Confirm unto the said Jonathan Robi- 
son all the said one thousand Acres of Land with 
the Appurtenances To hold to him the said Jona- 
than Robison His Heirs and Assigns forever as 
by the said Deed dated the tenth day of January 
A: D: 1726 may Appear And Whereas by Cer- 
tain Indentures of Lease & Release Tripartite made 
between Jonathan Robison and Elizabeth his wife 
of the first part Mordecai Lincoln of y e second 
part and Thomas Millard of y e third part the 
said Jonathan Robison & Elizabeth his Wife 
and Mordecai Lincoln by Indentures of 
Lease and Release dated the Sixth and Seventh 
days of Octobed 1729 did Confirm y e said one 
thousand Acres of Land unto Thomas Millard in 
ffee And the said Thomas Millard and Barbara his 
Wife by Indentures of Lease and Release dated 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 85 

the Ninth and tenth days of May A . D°. 1730 did 
Confirm the same One thousand Acres of Land 
unto the Above Named Mordecai Lincoln y e Elder 
in fee and being so Seized thereof dyed Who 
by his Last Will and Testament dated the 22 day 
of February A: D: 1735 and Registered in y e 
Registers Office in Philad a . June 7. 1736 did give 
and Bequeath unto his Son Abraham Lincoln 
[Party to these Presents] the one third Part of 
the said one thousand Acres of Land to be taken 
from the West End thereof which hath been Ami- 
cably Done Now This Indenture Witnesseth 
that the said Abraham Lincoln for and in Consid- 
eration of the Sum of Nine Pound Current Money 
of Pennsylvania to him in hand paid by the said 
William Tallman at and before y e Sealing and 
Delivery hereof the Receipt thereof is hereby ac- 
knowledged Hath granted bargained and Sold 
Aliened Enfeofed and Confirmed and by these 
presents doth grant bargain and Sell Alien En- 
feofe & Confirm uneo the said William Tallman 
and to his heirs and Assigns forever A Certain 
Messuage Tenement and Piece of Land [part of 
the one third part of the above Described one 
thousand Acres Beginning at an Ash tree Stand- 
ing on the West bank of the Great Creek in a line 
of Thomas Lincolns Land thence by y e Same 
North Seventeen Degrees and a half East thirty 
one Perches to a Black Oak & a Corner thence 
by s d Abraham Lincoln's Other Land the three 
following Courses and distances Viz. North Sev- 
enty two degrees and a half West Eight perches 



86 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

to a hickory and South twenty Nine Degrees 
West Thirty one perches and a half to a post 
thence South Seventy two degrees and a half 
East twelve perches & Six tenths to the place 
of beginning Containing two Acres of Land To- 
gether with all wood Underwoods Ways Waters 
Water Courses profits commodities Advantages 
Hereditaments and Appurtenances whatsoever 
unto the Above Described Piece of Land belong- 
ing or in any wise appertaining and the Reversion 
And Reversions Remainder and Remainders 
Rents Issues and Profits thereof and all the Es- 
tate Right title Jnterest Claim and Demand of 
him the said Abraham Lincoln in and to the prem- 
ises herein Mentioned or Intended to be Men- 
tioned and every Part and Parcell thereof 
And the said Abraham Lincoln for himself his 
heirs and Assigns doth Covenant promise and 
grant unto the said William Tallman and to his 
heirs and Assigns that he the said William Tall- 
man for himself his heirs and Assigns shall have 
the Sole priviledge and Power to draw and Con- 
vey [According as he his heirs or Assigns shall 
think fit for the sufficient Watering the said Piece 
of Land out of the Above Mentioned Great Creek 
or any part of said Creek that is near the bounds 
of said Two Acres of Land To have and to 
hold the said Messuage Tennament and Piece 
of Land and all and Singular the premises And 
Priviledges aforesaid and every part and Clause 
thereof with the Appurtenances unto the said 
William Tallman his heirs and Assigns to the only 



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Administrators' Account of the Estate of Abraham Lincoi n Son of 
Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter. (First Page. ) 



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Administrators' Account of the Estate oe Abraham Lincoln, Son of 
Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter. (Second Page.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 87 

proper Use and behoof of him the said William 
Tallman his heirs and Assigns for Ever Under 
the proportional part of the Yearly Quitrents 
from hence forward accruing unto the Chief Lord 
or Lords of the ffee thereof And the said 
Abraham Lincoln for himself And his heirs doth 
Covenant with the said William Tallman his 
heirs and Assigns that the said Abraham Lin- 
coln and his heirs the above Mentioned Messuage 
Tennament and Piece of Land Hereditament 
Premises and Priviledges and every Part and 
Clause thereof with the Appurtenances unto the 
said William Tallman his heirs and Assigns 
Against all persons whatsoever Shall Warrant 
and forever Defend By these presents And fur- 
ther that he the said Abraham Lincoln and his 
heirs and every Other Person and Persons and 
his and their heirs any thing having or Claiming 
in the said Messuage and Piece of Land And 
Priviledges above mentioned to be hereby Grant- 
ed or any Part thereof shall and will at all times 
hereafter upon the Reasonable Request and at 
the Cost and Charges of the said William Tall- 
man his heirs and Assigns Make do and Exe- 
cute or Cause to be all and every such further & 
other Lawfull and Reasonable Act and Acts 
thing and things Device and Devises Conveyance 
& Conveyances in the Law whatsoever for the 
further and better assuring & Confirming of 
y e Above Mentioned Piece of Land & Priviledges 
with the Appurtenances unto the said William 
Tallman his heirs and Assigns forever as by his 



88 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

or their Counsil Learned in the Law shall be 
Reasonably Devised Advised and Required In 
Witness whereof the said Abraham Lincoln hath 
hereunto Set his hand and Seal dated the day 
and year first above writen. Abraham Lincoln 
(Seal) Sealed and Delivered in the presence of 
Us John Powell Benj a . Parks Received the day of 
the date of the Above Writen Indenture of the 
Above Named William Tallman The Sum of 
Nine Pounds being in full the Consideration 
above Mentioned J say Received Abraham Lin- 
coln John Powell Benj a . Park (indorsed thus) On 
the Eighteenth Day of Aug*. Anno Domi 1759 
before me Jonas Seely Esq r . one of the Justices 
&c for the County of Berks Came y e within 
Named Abram Lincoln and Acknowledged the 
within Indenture to be his Act and Deed and De- 
sird the same May be Recorded as such in Tes- 
timony where of J have hereunto Set my Hand 
and Seal the Day & Date above written Jonas 
Seely (Seal) (and further indorsed thus) 

To All People to Whome these presents 
shall Come Know ye that we Mordecai Lincoln 
and Thomas Lincoln of Exeter in the County of 
Berks in the Province of Pennsylvania [Sons of 
Mordecai Lincoln Deceased and Within Men- 
tioned] for divers good Causes and Considera- 
tions us thereunto Moving have Remised Re- 
leased and forever Quit Claimed and By these 
presents do Remise Release and for Ever Quit 
Claim unto William Tallman [within Mentioned] 
his heirs and Assigns for Ever all that Messuage 



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Administrator's Account of the Estate of Ann Lincoln, Widow 
of Abraham Lincoln, of Exeter. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 89 

Tenement And Piece of Land of two Acres with 
the priviledges and Appurtenances and every part 
thereof [Which in the Within Indenture is Speci- 
fied Mentioned or Intended to be Mentioned] To 
have and to hold all and Singular the said Mes- 
suage Tennament and Piece of Land and Privi- 
ledge with the Appurtenances unto the said Wil- 
liam Tallman his heirs and Assigns forever 
And all the Estate Right Title Interest Claim and 
Demand whatsoever of us the said Mordecai 
and Thomas Lincoln and of each of us our heirs 
and each of our heirs and Assigns or any Other 
Person or Persons Claiming or to Claim by from 
or Under us or Any of Us of in and to the 
thereby Granted Premises & Privileges or any 
Part thereof In Witness whereof we have here- 
unto Jnterchangeably Set our hand & Seals This 
twenty Ninth Day of December in the Year of 
our Lord one thousand Seven hundred and fifty 
Seven Mordecai Lincoln (Seal) Thomas Lincoln 
(Seal) Sealed and Delivered in the presence 
of Us John Powell Benj a . Parks Berks County ss 
Be it remembered that on the twenty fifth Day 
of October Anno Domini 1774 Before me the 
Subscriber One of His Majesty's Justices of the 
Peace of the County of Berks Came Benjamin 
Parks of the Town of Reading in the said County 
Joiner and (being one of the People called Quak- 
ers) on his solemn Affirmation according to Law 
did declare that he saw the Above Named Mor- 
decai Lincoln & Thomas Lincoln Sign Seal and 
as their Act and Deed respectively deliver the 
above Instrument of Writing and that the Name 



90 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Benj a . Parks thereto Subscribed is of this Affirm- 
ant's proper Hand Writing and was by him Sub- 
scribed as a Witness to the Execution thereof 
(John Powell the other Witness Signing his 
Name as Witness at the Same time) And at the 
Same Time Came also to the above named Thomas 
Lincoln and Acknowledged the above Instrument 
of Writing to be his Act and Deed and desired the 
same might be recorded as such According to Law 
Witness my Hand and Seal the Day and Year 
aforesaid James Read (Seal) Recorded and this 
Record and the Original diligently compared and 
found to Agree exactly Word for Word and Fig- 
ure for Figure the Twenty Sixth Day of October 
Anno Domini 1774. 

The old Account Book of Abraham Lincoln shows 
that he ran a sawmill, which stood on the race run- 
ning through the land of the brothers, Mordecai and 
Abraham Lincoln. The earliest reference in the 
account to the sawmill is found in the following 
entry made in the year 1758 : 

Mordecai Lincoln to one half days sewing Jn 

exchange of Work 

£ s d 

Thomas Lincoln to Sawing of 60 foot 010 

The mill account continues on into the seventies, 
showing that Abraham carried on a steady business 
at the mill. 

In the land records the following references to the 
race and the sawmill are found : 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 91 

"that nothing herein before mentioned expressed 
or contained shall in any wise prevent or hinder 
the said Mordecai Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln 
their Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns 
or any of them from having or enjoying all the 
Liberties and Privileges to which they are respec- 
tively intitled to by Virtue of certain Articles of 
Agreement Dated the first Day of April Anno 
Domini one thousand seven hundred and fifty 
eight made between Abraham Lincoln George 
Henton, Mordecai Lincoln and Thomas Lincoln 
concerning a Water Saw Mill now erected and 
made on the Land of the said Mordecai Lincoln 
and Abraham Lincoln their Heirs and Assigns re- 
spectively are or shall be entitled to relative to 
the Water of the said Creek & Water Course 
aforesaid by Virtue of the Said recited Award] 
Said Mordecai Lincoln (Seal) Abraham Lincoln 
(Seal)" 

***** North five degrees East Eleven Perches 
to a Black Oak on the said Race thence on the 
same North four Degrees West Ten Perches to 
a White Oak Bush on Abraham Lincoln's Line 
thence by the same Abraham's Land South sev- 
enteen Degrees and a half West one hundred 
and nineteen Perches to an Ash Tree, on the West 
Bank of the Great Creek (being a Corner of the 
said Abraham and Thomas Lincoln's and Wil- 
liam Tallman's Land) thence Crossing the Said 
Creek by Thomas Lincoln's Land * 



a nH Alni S T d T men t- is a ., Deed T of Sale by William Tallman 
and Anne Tallman, his wife, to Jacob Bechtel Oct. 16, 1766. 



9 2 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



The old Account Book of Abraham Lincoln, the 
posthumous son of Mordecai, the elder, of Exeter, 
is extant. It begins with 1756 and continues quite 
regularly until 1772 and after that with considerable 
gaps until 1779. The book affords an interesting 
glimpse into the daily occupations of the Lincolns, 
Boones, Hintons, Rogers and other families of Berks 
County before the Revolution. It is a rare document 
as an original source of Pennsylvania history. The 
MS. is 3 11/16 x 6 1/8 inches in size and 
contains 41 leaves. The book now belongs to 
Richard Lincoln, of Reading, Pennsylvania, who 
allowed the present writer to make use of it. 

Abraham Lincoln was a man of importance in his 
community. The Commission Book for the years 
1 758- 1 783 shows that he was elected County Com- 
missioner October, 1772, and served till 1779. He 
appears as Sub-Lieutenant in Berks County, March 
21, 1777. 

He was elected to the Assembly as follows : 

October 28, 1782. 
October 27, (?) 1783. 
October 25, 1784. 
October 24, 1785. 

He served as assemblyman on the very impor- 
tant Committee of Grievances and was an important 
champion of the rights of the people in every meas- 
ure that affected the delegation of the power of the 
people. This was particularly noticeable in constitu- 



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First Two Packs of the Old "Lincoln Record." 
(Original in the Possession of Harrison ('.. Lincoln, of Reading, Pa.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 93 

tional discussions of 1785-6. Abraham Lincoln 
was chosen to make the address to Washington in 
Philadelphia after the close of the Revolution. He 
also took part in the Constitutional Convention of 
1 789- 1 790.* 

As the Account Book shows, he was Super- 
visor of Roads and evidently entrusted with the re- 
pairs of the school house in 1771, showing probably 
that he was Chief School Commissioner. Abraham 
Lincoln died January 31, 1806, and was buried at 
Exeter. Ann, his wife and widow, died April 4, 
1807, and was buried also at Exeter. The estates of 
both Abraham and Ann were settled by their chil- 
dren, as the accompanying photographic reproduc- 
tions of the administrators' accounts with their sig- 
natures will show. 

LINCOLN RECORD. 

Abraham Lincoln (son of Mordecai Lincoln 
and Mary his Wife) born on the Second Day of 
the Week, at 7.. O Clock in the Afternoon on 
the 18 th of October, Old Style, Anno Domini 
1736: or, A. D. 1736 October 29, New Style. 

Anna Boone (Daughter of James Boone and 
Mary his Wife) born on the First Day of the 
Week, about 5.. O'Clock in the Afternoon, on 



* These facts relating to Abraham Lincoln's activity as a 
member of the Assembly are taken from a most interesting 
unpublished paper by Dr. A. H. Shearer, of Dartmouth Col- 
lege, who kindly allowed the present writer to make them 
public. 



94 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the 3 rd of April, Old Style, Anno Domini 1737: 
or, A. D. 1737 April 14 th New Style. 

Abraham Lincoln and Anna Boone were Mar- 
ried on the Fifth Day of the Week, on the 
10 th of July A. D. 1760 when his age was 23 
Years 8 Mon. 11 Days and her Age was 23 " 2 
" 26 " — he being 5 months 15 Days & 22 Hours 
older than she. 

N. B. The Style was altered in the Year 
1752. The 2 nd of September was the last day 
in the Old Style; and next day instead of ac- 
counting it the 3 rd of September it was accounted 
the 14 th of Sept. next day the 15 th &c 

Here follows the Times of the Births of the 
Children of Abraham Lincoln & Anne Lincoln his 
Wife, with the Differences of their Ages set down 
likewise. 

I st Mary Lincoln, (Daughter of Abraham Lin- 
coln & Anne Lincoln) Born the 15 th of September 
Anno Domini 1 761, on the Third Day of the Week, 
about 10.. o'Clock at Night. 

2 nd Martha Lincoln, (Daughter of Abraham 
Lincoln & Anne Lincoln) Born the 25 th of January 
Anno Domini 1763, on the Third Day of the Week, 
about 10.. o'Clock in the Morning. 

Martha being iY.. 4M.. 9D.. 12H. younger than 
Mary. 

3 d Mordecai Lincoln, junior, (son of Abraham 
& Anne Lincoln) Born the 11 th of January Anno 
Domini 1765 on the Sixth Day of the Week about 
15 Minutes after Seven in the Morning. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 95 

Mordecai being iY.. 11M.. 16D.. 21H.. 15 Min. 
younger than Martha. 

4 th James Lincoln (son of Abraham & Anne 
Lincoln Born the 5 th of May Anno Domini 1767, 
on the Third Day of the Week, at or about 10.. 
o'Clock in the Morning. 

James being 2Y.. 3M.. 24D.. 45m. younger than 
Mordecai. 

5 th Anna Lincoln, (Daughter of Abraham & 
Anne Lincoln Born the 19 th of April Anno Domini 
1769, on the 4 th Day of the Week, at 7. o'Clock in 
the Morning. 

Anna being iY.. 11M.. 13D.. 21H. younger than 
James. 

6 th Rachel Lincoln (Daughter of Abraham Lin- 
coln & Anne Lincoln) Born the 24 th of March 
A. D. 1 77 1, on the First Day of the Week at 19 
Minutes past 6.. o'Clock in the Morning. 

Rachel being iY.. 11M.. 4D.. 23H.. younger 
than Anna. 

7 th Phebe Lincoln (Daughter of Abraham Lin- 
coln and Anne Lincoln) Born in Anno Domini 
1773 January 22 d . on the Sixth Day of the Week 
at 5 Minutes past 8.. o'Clock at Night. 

Phebe being iY.. 9M.. 29D. : 13H. : 46m. younger 
than Rachel. 

8 th Anne Lincoln (Daughter of Abraham & 
Anne Lincoln) was born in Anno Domini 1774 
October 19 th on the Fourth Day of the Week, at 
25 minutes past 11.. o'Clock in the Morning. 

Anne being 1 Y. : 8M. : 26D. : 15H. : 20m. younger 
than Phebe. 



96 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Rachel Lincoln (the 6 th child of Abraham & 
Anne Lincoln) departed this Life on the Fourth 
Day of the Week, at 50 Minutes past 1 o'Clock in 
the Afternoon, and on the 19 th day of July, A. D. 
1775 ; aged 4Y. : 3M. : 25D. : 7H. : 31m. and was 
interred at Exeter the next Day. 

9 th Thomas Lincoln (son of Abraham & Anne 
Lincoln) was born on the Fourth Day of the Week 
at 10 Minutes past two in the Morning, and on the 
12 th Day of March A. D. 1777. 

Thomas being 2Y. : 4.M. : 20D. : 14H. : 45m. 
younger than Anne. 

10 th John Lincoln (son of Abraham & Anne 
Lincoln) was born on the Fifth Day of the Week 
at ten Minutes past three in the Morning, and on 
the 21 st Day of October A. D. 1779. 

John being 2Y. : 7M. : 9D. : iH. younger than 
Thomas. 

Abraham Lincoln (son of Mordecai & Mary 
Lincoln) departed this Life, at his House in 
Exeter, on the 6 th Day of the Week at 15 minutes 
past 7 in the Morning an d on the 31 st of January 
A. D. 1806 aged 69 Y. : 3M. : iD. : 7H. : 15M. and 
was interred at Exeter on the 2 nd of February on 
the First Day of the Week. 

Ann Lincoln (Widow of Abraham Lincoln) de- 
parted this Life in Exeter on the 7 th day of the 
Week, at 10 minutes past 2 in the afternoon and on 
the 4 th of April A. D. 1807 aged 69 Y. 11M. 21D. 
14H. 10m. and was interred at Exeter on the 6 th 
of April on the 2 nd day of the Week. 

Julian Mayberry born the 5 th Day of February 
A D 1780. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 97 

Mordecai Lincoln & Julian Mayberry were Mar- 
ried the 5 th of May A. D. 1812 on the 3 rd day of 
the Week at 8 O'Clock in the afternoon. 

1. Rachel Lincoln (daughter of Mordecai & 
Julian Lincoln) was Born the 6 th of May A. D. 

181 3 on the 5 th day of the Week, at 6 o'clock in 
the Afternoon. 

2. Ann Lincoln (Daughter of Mordecai & 
Julian Lincoln) born the I st of August A. D. 1814 
on the 2 nd Day of the Week at 50 Minutes past 2 
o Clock in the Morning. 

Ann being iY. : 2M. : 24D. : 14H. : 50m. younger 
than Rachel. 

3. Abraham M. Lincoln (son of Mordecai & 
Julian Lincoln) born the I st of August A D 1814 
on the 2 nd Day of the Week, at 48 Minutes past 6 
o Clock in the Morning. 

Abraham being 3H. : 58m younger than Ann. 
Ann Lincoln (Daughter of Mordecai & Julian 
Lincoln) departed this Life on the 4 th of August 

1814 on the 5 th Day of the Week at 8 o Clock in 
the Morning Aged 3D. : 7H. : 12m. 

Abraham Lincoln (son of Mordecai & Julian 
Lincoln) departed this Life on the 8 th of August 

181 5 on the 3 rd Day of the Week at 10 o.Clock at 
Night Aged iY. : oM. : 7D. : 15H. : 12m. 

4. Margaret Lincoln (Daughter of Mordecai & 
Julian Lincoln) born July 21 AD 1817, 40 minutes 
past 5 O Clock in the Morning And departed this 
Life 1817 on the 13 th Day of August at 24 minutes 
past 3 o Clock in the Morning. Aged 22D. : 21H. : 
44m. 



98 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

5. Margaret Lincoln (Daughter of Mordecai & 
Julian Lincoln) born May 12 th 1820 at o o Clock 
and 48 Minutes in the afternoon. 

Mordecai Lincoln (Son of Abraham Lincoln & 
Anne his Wife) Departed this Life in Exeter 
Township the 12 th day of September on the 5 th 
day of the Week about 10 minutes before 6 o Clock 
in the afternoon A D 1822 Aged 57Y. : 8M. : iD. 
When he had Lived with his Wife 10Y. : 3M. 7D. 

Julian Lincoln Widow of Mordecai Lincoln 
Departed this life in Allentown Lehigh Co. the 6 th 
Day of March on the 7 th day of the Week about 
12 o Clock noon A D 1858 Aged 78 Y. : iM. : iD. 

Margaret Lincoln & Bartholomew Barto were 
Married Dec 7 th 1841 Her Age being 21Y. : 8M. : 
7 D. 

Alice Delia ven daughter of Abraham Dehaven 
from Lancaster Co. and wife of Thomas Lincoln 
was born June 25 th 1770. She departed this Life 
Dec 29 th 1836 Aged 66 Y. 6M. 3D. 

Thomas Lincoln departed this life Dec 27 th 1863 
Aged 86Y. 9M. 15D. 

Martha Lincoln daughter of Thomas & Alike 
Lincoln departed this Life Oct. 12 th 1858 at 9 
o clock in the morning Aged 46 Y. : 10M. : 20D. 
(called also Martha Kaub) Grave is 6 th in 5 th row 
at Exeter Meeting. 

John D Lincoln son of Thomas & Alice Lin- 
coln was born Jan 1 181 5 on the I st day of the 
Week. 

[Book is here defaced, but it appears to be a 
record of a 2 nd Marriage of Thomas Lincoln to 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 99 

Hannah E , who was born the 7 th of March, 

1827, near Douglassville— Harrison P. Lincoln.] 

John Lincoln son of Abraham Lincoln, departed 
this life on the 4 th Day of April 1864 Aged 84Y 
5M. 21D. 

James Lincoln son of Abraham Lincoln died in 
Carnarven Twp. Berks Co. in Morgantown 3 rd 
day of Week between 8 & 9 o'Clock in the morn- 
ing A D i860 Aged 93 Y. 7M. 6D. 

Interred at Morgantown 13 th . 

David J. Lincoln died April 10 th 1886 at Birds- 
borough Aged 70 years. 

Children of John D. & Sarah Lincoln. 

1 Ametia Born March 28 1838 

2 Alfred " Apr 21 1839 

3 Harrison H. Born July 28 1840 

4 Elizabeth " Nov 20 1841 

5 John " Mar 7 1843 Died July 19 

1876 

6 Richard Born Dec 5 th 1844 

7 Martha " " 12 th 1846 

8 Ann (or Anna) Born Feb 16 th 1849 

9 Sarah " May 24^1851 

10 Mary " Apr 24 th 1852 

11 Oscar " Feb 16 1855 Died Apr 

25 th 1857 
[Book is here defaced but record appears to 
read that John D Lincoln married Sarah Solbert 
or Gilbert on Jan 2 th 1837 and that he died Jan 27 
1868— Harrison P. Lincoln]* 



* The copy made by Harrison P. Lincoln, now found in 
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, has been used in con- 
nection with the original manuscript Lincoln Record. 



IOO ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



CHAPTER VI. 

JOHN LINCOLN OR "VIRGINIA JOHN," SON OF 
MORDECAI OF EXETER. 

It is with John Lincoln, the third son of Mordecai 
Lincoln, the elder, of Exeter, that the Lincoln line 
continues its migration from Pennsylvania into Vir- 
ginia, the Great Valley and the Middle West. It 
has been possible to trace the track of this migration 
in the land records and other documents. 

According to the will of his father, Mordecai Lin- 
coln, the elder, of Exeter, John Lincoln received his 
share of the estate his father's land in New Jersey. 
So whatever land he possessed in Pennsylvania had 
to be acquired by purchase in some form. The earli- 
est mention of John Lincoln in the land records of 
Pennsylvania is found in proprietary grant dated 
June 28, 1746, and runs as follows: 

THOMAS PENN & RICHARD PENN 

Esquires true and absolute Proprietaries and 
Governors in Chief of the Province of Pennsyl- 
vania and Counties of Newcastle Kent & Sus- 
sex upon Delaware To all unto whom these Pres- 
ents shall come Greeting: 

Whereas in Pursuance of a Warrant dated the 
Twenty eighth Day of Iune one thousand seven 
hundred and forty six there was surveyed unto 
Iohn Lloyd A certain Tract of Land situate in 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION IOI 

Union Street in the County of Berks Beginning 
at a marked black Oak Thence by vacant Land 
South West seventy nine Perches to a Post South 
East one hundred and eight Perches to a Chest- 
nut Oak and North East seventy nine Perches 
to a Post Thence by John Lloyd's other Land 
North West one hundred and eight Perches to 
the Place of Beginning Containing Fifty Acres 
and forty nine Perches and Allowance of Six 
Acres Pr Cent for Roads & Highways As in and 
by the said Warrant and Survey remaining in the 
Surveyor Generals Office & from thence Certified 
into our Secretaries Office more fully appears and 
Whereas the said John Lloyd in and by his Deed 
or Articles of Agreement dated the ninth day of 
October one thousand seven hundred and forty 
six did grant bargain & sell all his Right to the 
said Warrant Land & Improvements with the Ap- 
purtenances unto John Lincoln then of Caernar- 
von Township Yeoman his Heirs & Assigns for 
ever As by the said Deed now produced appears 
Now at the Instance and Request of the said 
John Lincoln that we would be pleased to grant 
him a Confirmation of the same know Ye that in 
Consideration of the sum of Three Pounds fifteen 
Shillings and eleven Pence lawful Money of Penn- 
sylvania to our Use paid by the said John Lin- 
coln (The Receipt whereof we hereby acknowl- 
edge and thereof do acquit and for ever Dis- 
charge the said John Lincoln his Heirs and As- 
signs by the Presents) and of the yearly Quitrent 
hereinafter mentioned and reserved We have 
given granted released and confirmed and by 



102 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

these Presents do give grant release and confirm 
unto the said John Lincoln his Heirs and As- 
signs the said Fifty Acres & forty-nine Perches 
of Land as the same are now set forth bounded 
and limited as aforesaid With all Mines Minerals 
Quarries Meadows Marshes Savannahs Swamps 
Cripples Woods Underwoods Timber and Trees 
Ways Waters Watercourses Liberties Profits 
Commodities Advantages Hereditaments & Ap- 
purtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging or 
in any wise appurtaining and lying within the 
Bounds & Limits aforesaid [Three full & clear 
fifth Parts of all Royal Mines free from all De- 
ductions and Reprizals for digging & refining 
the same and also one fifth Part of the Ore of 
all other Mines delivered at the Pitsmouth only 
excepted and hereby reserved] and also free 
Leave Right and Liberty to and for the said 
John Lincoln his Heirs and Assigns to Hawk 
Hunt Fish & Fowl in & upon the hereby granted 
Land and Premises or upon any Part thereof To 
Have and to Hold the said fifty Acres and forty 
nine Perches of Land & Premises hereby 
granted (except as before excepted) with their 
Appurtenances unto the said John Lincoln his 
Heirs and Assigns To the only Use & Behoof of 
the said John Lincoln his Heirs and Assigns for 
ever To be Holden of us our Heirs & Succes- 
sors Proprietaries of Pennsylvania as of our 
Manor of Ruscombe in the County of Berks 
aforesaid in free & common Soccage by Fealty 
only in Lieu of all other Services yielding and 
Paying therefore yearly unto us our Heirs and 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 103 

Successors at the Town of Reading in the said 
County at or upon the first day of March in every 
year one half Penny Sterling for every Acre of 
the same Or Value thereof in Coin Current ac- 
count according as the Exchange shall then 
be between our said Province and the City 
of London to such Person or Persons as shall 
from Time to Time be appointed to receive the 
same And in Case of Nonpayment thereof within 
ninety Days next after the same shall become due 
That then it shall and may be lawful for us our 
Heirs and Successors our and their Receiver or 
Receivers into and upon the hereby granted Land 
& Premises to Reenter & the same to hold 
and possess until the said Quitrent and all ar- 
rears thereof Together with the Charges accruing 
by means of such Nonpayment & Reentry be fully 
paid and discharged Witness John Penn Esquire 
Lieutenant Governor of the said Province Who by 
Virtue of certain Powers & Authorities to him for 
this Purpose inter alia, granted by the said Propri- 
etaries hath hereunto set his Hand and caused 
the Great Seal of the said Province to be here- 
unto affixed at Philadelphia this seventh day of 
Iune in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and sixty five The Fifth Year of the 
Reign of King George the Third over Great Brit- 
ain &c and the Forty seventh year of the said 
Proprietaries Government Iohn Penn (L. S.) Re- 
corded the 10th day of Iune, 1765. 

A very important deed, dated November 8, 1748, 



104 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

in which John Lincoln conveys his land in New Jer- 
sey to William Dye, gives us much valuable infor- 
mation, showing that he was the son of Mordecai, 
the elder, of Exeter, and a weaver by trade, then 
living in Caenarvon, Lancaster County, Pennsyl- 
vania : 

This Indenture made the eighth day of No- 
vember in the twentyeth second year of the 
Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord George the Sec- 
ond of Great Brittain france and Ireland King 
Defender of the faith &c in the Year of Our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty 
eight Between John Lincon of the Township Car- 
narvon in the County of Lancaster and Province 
of Penselvania weaver the son and Heir of Mor- 
decai Lincon deceased of the one part and Wil- 
liam Dye of the County of Middlesex yeoman of 
the other Part Witnesseth that the said John 
Lincon for and in Consideration of the Sum of 
Two hundred pounds current money of New Jer- 
sey at eight shillings p ounce to me in hand paid 
by him the said William Dye the receipt whereof 
he the said John Lincon doth hereby acknowledge 
and himself to be therewith satisfied contented & 
paid and thereof and of and from every part and 
parsal thereof doth fully clearly and absolutely 
acquit exonerate and discharge him the said Wil- 
liam Dye his Heirs Executors Administrators and 
assigns for ever Hath Granted bargained Sold 
aliened Convaid and Confirmed unto him the said 
William Dye and to his Heirs and assigns forever 
All that Tract of Land scituate lying and being in 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 105 

the said County of Middlesex Beginning where 
the Land formerly Walter Benthals crosses 
Crarnberry brook from thence along said Ben- 
thals line towards the Post Road to the Land for- 
merly Robert Burnets And from thence along 
said Burnets line in breadth so far that a parallel 
line to the foresaid line of Benthels from the said 
Burnets line to said Cranberry brook do contain 
three hundred acres thence along the course of 
said Benthals line to Cranberry brook and from 
thence down the Brook to where it began Bound- 
ed Westerly by the Land formerly said Benthals 
Northerly by Land formerly Robert Burnets 
Easterly by Land formerly belonging to Herricon 
and Southerly by Cranberry brook with all and 
all manner of Houses Building [s] Mines Minerals 
and Appurtenances and previliges whatsoever of 
him the said John Lincon as well in Law as in 
Equity of in or unto the said three hundred acres 
of Land with the Reversion and Reversions Re- 
mainders of the Same To Have and to Hold the 
aforesaid Three hundred acres of Land with all 
the bargained Premises with the Appurtenances 
unto him the said William Dye his Heirs and 
assigns for ever to the only proper use benefit 
and behoof of him the said William Dye his 
Heirs and assigns And he the said John Lincon 
for himself his Heirs Executors and administra- 
tors by these Presents in manner following viz 
That he the said John Lincon at the time of the 
Sealing & Delivering hereof hath in himself 
good Right full Power and lawful Authority to 



106 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Grant bargain Sell Convey the said Three hun- 
dred acres of Land unto the said William Dye in 
manner as aforesaid and that the same is and shall 
continue free and clear from all incumbrances 
whatsoever and will Warrant secure and Defend 
the said William Dye his Heirs and assigns for 
ever In Witness Whereof I have hereunto Set 
my hand and Seal the day and year abovesaid. 
John Lincon (L: S) Signed Sealed and Deliv- 
ered in Presence of us John Brainerd, Ebenezer 
Hayward Memorandum that on the 24th day of 
May 1750 John Lincon party to the within writ- 
ten Instrument appeared before me Andrew John- 
son one of His Majesty's Council for the Prov- 
ince of New Jersey and acknowledged that he 
executed the same as his voluntary act and Deed 
of the therein mentioned And w Johnson 

The name of John Lincoln appears in the early 
tax lists of Berks County, Pennsylvania, as the fol- 
lowing assessments will show : 

£ £ s. d. Township 

1754 JohnLincorn 38 96 Union 

1758 John Lincoln 6 1 6 Amity 
1758 John Lincoln 

Nov 29 1758 4 6 Amity 
(Special Assessment) 

1758 John Lincoln 10 15 Union 

1759 Linckcoln John 10 15 Union 
1759 Lincoln John 1 Amity 

(Single Man) 
1759 Lincoln John 6 9 Amity 



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AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 



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1760 Lincoln, John 
1760 Lincoln [John?] 

1760 Lincoln [John?] 

1761 Lincoln Jn°. 

[married men] 

1762 Lincoln John 

1762 Lincoln John 

1763 Lincoln John 

1763 Lincoln John 

1764 Lincoln John 

1765 Lincoln John 

Although John Lincoln is mentioned in the land 
papers as weaver by trade, he had other forms of 
occupation. The following receipt, dated June 10, 
1754, shows that he was engaged in the business of 
hauling, at least at times : 

Reed from Aquila Jones Sepr. 19th I753 one 
Ton Pigmetal w ch J promice to Deliver to 
M r . Sam 11 Seely at his forge on acct of Jno 
Potts Esq r 

Witness 

Jn° Sullivan John Lincon 

There are a number of records of land transac- 
tions by John Lincoln in the land papers of Berks 
County, as the following will show : 

Grantee John Lincoln, June 13, 1748, Grantor John Loyd 
and wife, Robeson, Lane. Co., book 8, page 400. 



IC)8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Grantor John Lincoln, May 17, 1763. Grantee Jacob 
Redcay, Robeson, book 8, page 402. 

Grantee John Lincoln, June 14, 1763, Grantor John Camp- 
bell, Amity, book 4, page 319. 

Grantor John Lincoln, May 20, 1765, Grantee Henry Leer, 
Amity, book 4, page 323. 

Grantee John Lincoln, May 27, 1765, Grantors William 
Boone, Jeremiah Boone, book 4, page 321. 

Grantor John Lincoln, June 13, 1765, Grantee Jacob 
Redcay, Union, book 8, page 404. 

According to these deeds, John Lincoln and Re- 
becca, his wife, disposed of their important tracts of 
land between 1763 and 1765, as follows: 

1. They sold to Jacob Redcay, May 17, 1763, 120 
acres of the land granted to John Lincoln by the Pro- 
prietary authority June 13, 1748, for the sum of 
300 pounds. 

2. They sold to Henry Lear, May 20, 1765, one 
tract of 125 acres and another of 36 acres for 4 
pounds per acre. 

3. They sold to the aforesaid Jacob Redcay, June 
x 3> : 765> 50 acres and 49 perches for the sum of 
120 pounds. 

Thus they sold altogether 331 acres and 49 perches 
of land for the sum of 794 pounds in all, during 
these two years. 

Meanwhile John Lincoln had bought of John 
Campbell, of Amity township, 36 acres of land for 
100 pounds, and of William and Jeremiah Boone, 
sons and executors of George Boone, of Exeter, 125 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION IOQ. 

acres for the sum of 160 pounds. Thus he had in- 
vested during those two years 260 pounds in land 
and realized 794 pounds from sales of land, leaving 
a net cash balance of 534 pounds. 

It is significant that the name of John Lincoln 
disappears from the Berks County records about 
1765. The question naturally arises : What became 
of him? The answer to this question is easily found 
in the land records of Virginia. An original deed 
found in the Recorder's Office of Staunton, Vir- 
ginia, and dated June 21, 1768, furnishes the desired 
inf ormation : 

This Indenture made the twenty first day of 
June in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and sixty eight Between Zachariah and 
Lydia Moses (Mases?) and Mary McKoy [Mc- 
Kay?] their wifes [sic] Robert and James McKoy 
[McKay?] of the County of Fredrick and Colony 
of Virginia of the one part and John Lincon of 
the County of augusta and Colony aforesaid of 
the other part — witnesseth that the said Zacha- 
riah and Lydia Moses and Mary McKay for and 
in consideration of the sum of five shillings cur- 
rent money of Virginia unto them in hand paid 
by the said John Lincon at or before the sealing 
and Delivery of these Presents the Receipt where- 
of is hereby acknowledged hath granted Bar- 
gained and sold and by these Presents doth grant 
bargain and sell unto the said John Lincon a tract 
of Land containing six hundred acres more or 
Less lying and being in the County of Augusta 



HO ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

on Linwils Creek being a Parcel of twelve hun- 
dred acres granted by Patent to McCoy Duff 
Green and Hite by Patent Bearing date the twen- 
ty six day of March 1739 and by them convey to 
Robert McKay by Deeds of Lease and Release 
dated the nineteenth and 20th days of June 
MDCC46 and recorded in the County Court of 
Augusta and by the said Robert McKay &c and 
devised to the aforesaid Zachariah McKay and 
Lydia Moses and Mary McKay their wifes [sic] 
by his Last will and Testament Bearing Date the 
day of MDCC duely Proved and 

Recorded in the County Court of Augusta the 
said tract being bounded as followeth to wit Be- 
ginning at a Black oak the south side of a ridge 
corner to Tunis Vanpelt Land in original line N°. 
54 . W. 662 Poles containuing that cost to the 
Origenial [sic] Line thence N°. 37 degs. Et. 108 
poles to Bomans Line in the Original line 
thence S°. 26 W. 80 Poles to an off set in the 
Original Line Running thence with the said Line 
S°. 39 W. 108 Poles to the Place of Beginning 
and all houses Orchards ways Waters Water- 
courses profits commodities hereditaments and 
appurtenances whatsoever to the said Premises 
hereby granted or any part thereof belonging or 
in anywise appertaining and the Reversion and 
Reversions Remainder and Remainders rents Is- 
sues and Profits thereof to have and to hold the 
said six hundred acres more or Less of Land and 
all and singular other the Premises is hereby 
granted with the appurtenances unto the said John 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION III 

Lincon and his Executors and administrators and 
assigns from the day before the date hereof for 
and During the full term and time of one whole 
year from thence next ensuing fully to be com- 
plete and ended Yielding and Paying therefore 
the rent of one pepper on Lady day next 

if the same shall be Lawfully Demanded to the 
Intent and purpose that by Virtue of these Pres- 
ents and of the statute for transferring uses into 
Possession the said John Lincon may be in actual 
Possession of the Premises and to be thereby en- 
abled to accept and take a grant and Release of 
the Reversion and Inheritance thereof to him and 
his heirs In Witness whereof the said Zachariah 
and Lydia Moses and Mary McCoy their wifes 
Roberd and James McCoy hath hath hereunto set 
their hands and seals the day and year first above 
written. 

Zachariah McKay. (L. S.) 

Moses McKay. (L. S.) 

Robert McKay. (L. S.) 

James McKay (L. S.) 

Sealed and Delivered 
in the Presence of 

Michael Waren. 

his 
John [8] Jackson, 
mark 

John Poage. 

At a Court held for Augusta County August the 
1 6th, 1768. 

This Lease from Zachariah McKay Robert Mc- 



112 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Kay Moses McKay and James McKay to John 
Lincon was Proved by the oaths of the Witnesses 
thereto and Ordered to be Recorded. 

Test John Madison 

Copied from Deed Book No. 15 Page 50 

Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court for Augusta 

County, Virginia. 

Harry Burnett, Clerk. 

[The record shows that the sum of £250 was 
paid. The forms of the name 'McKay' and 'Mc- 
Koy' (as written at the beginning of the deed) 
are, of course, identical.] 

It is clear from the deed that John Lincoln had 
migrated to Virginia between the years 1765 and 
1768. The fact that the signatures of John Lincoln 
and the mark of Rebecca Lincoln, his wife, are 
identical in the land documents of Berks County, 
Pennsylvania and in those of Augusta County, Vir- 
ginia, leaves no possible doubt of the identity of the 
persons themselves. The signature of John Lincoln 
in the Virginia deed of 1773 is very poor, but never- 
theless legible. By an omission easily explained, the 
usual mark or sign of Rebecca's "mark" was not 
affixed to the document here reproduced, but that her 
signature was certified to is indicated in the re- 
corded deed. It was our good fortune to find a par- 
ticularly good specimen of John Lincoln's signature 
in an old receipt found in the collections of Ex-Gov- 
ernor Pennypacker, who generously allowed it to be 
reproduced in this work. In the light of these docu- 







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Deed ok John and Rebecca Lincoln to Isaac Lincoln, Conveying 
Land on Linville's Creek in 1773. 



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Deed of John and Rebecca Lincoln to Isaac Lincoln, Conveying 
Land on Linville's Creek in 1773. 



1 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION II3 

ments, the current statement that John Lincoln went 
to Virginia to settle about 1750, at the time when 
Daniel Boone left Berks County, Pennsylvania, for 
the South, must be considered incorrect. Never- 
theless, it was in the track of Daniel Boone that 
John Lincoln found his way to Virginia and the 
tradition that Daniel Boone stopped for a time on 
Linvill's Creek in Augusta (now Rockingham) 
County, Virginia, doubtless reflects important his- 
tory in connection with the migration from Penn- 
sylvania to Virginia. Moreover, the intimate rela- 
tions of the Lincolns and the Boones in Berks 
County, Pennsylvania, give us the motive for such 
migration at this time. 

The land records of Virginia show also how John 
Lincoln distributed his land in Augusta County to 
his sons. In the following deed, dated August 12, 
1773, he conveys to his son, Isaac Lincoln, 215 acres 
of his 600 acre purchase of 1768, as the text of the 
document will show : 

This Indenture made the Twelfth day of 
August in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and Seventy three Between John 
Lincoln and Rebeca his wife of Augusta County 
& Colony of Virginia of the one part and Isaac 
Lincoln of the County and Colony aforesaid of 
the other Part Witnesseth that for and in consid- 
eration of the sum of Twenty Pounds Current 
mony of Virginia to the said John Lincoln in hand 
Paid by the said Isaac Lincoln at or before the 



114 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Sealing & delivering of these Presents the receipt 
he doth hereby Acknowledge & thereof doth re- 
lease acquit and Discharge the said Isaac Lincoln 
his Executors & Administrators by these Presents 
that the said John Lincoln Hath Granted Bar- 
gained sold Aliened released and Confirmed & 
by these Presents doth Grant Bargain Sell Alien 
release & Confirm unto the sd. Isaac Lincoln (in 
his Actuall Possession now being by virtue of a 
Bargain and Sale to him thereof made by the 
said John Lincoln & Rebecca his wife for one 
whole year by Indenture bearing date the day 
next before the day of the date of these Presents 
and by force of the Statute for Transfering uses 
into Possession/ and his heirs one Certain Tract 
or Parcel of Land Containing 215 acres Lying 
and being in the County of Augusta on Lenvels 
Creek being Part of Twelve Hundred acres 
Granted to McKay Duff Green and Hite by Pat- 
tent Bearing date the 26th. day of March 1739 
and was by them Conveyed to Robert McKay by 
deeds of Lease and Release Bearing date the 19th. 
and 20th. days of June 1746 & recorded in the 
County Court of Augusta & was by the said Rob- 
ert McKay Devised to Zachariah McKay Mosses 
McKay Robert McKay and James McKay by his 
Last will and Testament dated the 7th. day of 
Octobed 1746 and recorded in the County Court 
of Augusta and Six hundred Acres Part of the 
Twelve hundred acres was Conveyed by the said 
Zachariah McKay and Lydia his wife Mosses 
McKay and Mary his wife Robert McKay and 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 115 

James McKay unto the [said] John Lincoln by 
deeds of Lease and release bearing date the 21st. 
and 22nd., days of June, 1768 and recorded in the 
County Court of Augusta and Bounded as follow- 
ed, to wit :— Beginning at a Black and white oake 
Saplings on the old line Corner to his Brother Ab- 
rahams Land & thence south 31 degrees west 16 
poles to 2 white oake Saplins thence south 54 
degrees east 240 Poles to the Creek a Marked 
walnutt a Corner to the said Abrahams Land 
north 86 degrees east 13 poles Crossing the Creek 
to 2 Locusts thence North 39 degrees 8 poles to 
a Black and white oak Saplins south 62 degrees 
East 360 Poles to a Black oak Saplin on the old 
Line north 60 degrees east 5 poles to 2 white oaks 
an old Corner thence north 22 degrees east & 
80 poles to 2 white oaks thence north 65^ de- 
grees west 360 poles to the Creek & the same 
Course 252 poles to the Beginning and all houses 
Buddings Orchards ways water water Courses 
Profits Commodities Hereditaments and Appur- 
tenances whatsoever to the said Premises hereby 
Granted or and Part thereof Belonging or in 
any wise appertaining and the reversion and 
reversions Remainder and Remainders Rents 
Issues & Profits thereof and also all the es- 
tate right title Interest use Trust Property Claim 
and demand and whatsoever of them the said 
John Lincoln and Rebeca his wife of in and to 
the said Premises and all deeds Evidences & 
writings touching or in any wise Concerning the 
same To have and To hold the Lands hereby Con- 



Il6 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

veyed and all and Singular other the Premises 
hereby Granted & released and every Part and 
Parcel thereof with their and every of their Ap- 
purtenances unto the said Isaac Lincoln his heirs 
and Assigns forever To the only proper use and 
Behoof of him the said Isaac Lincoln his heirs 
and Assigns forever and the said John Lincoln 
and Rebeca his wife for themselves there heirs 
Executors and Administrators doth Covenant 
Promise & Grant to and with the said Isaac Lin- 
coln his heirs and Assigns by these Presents that 
the said John Lincoln and Rebeca his wife now 
at The time of Sealing and Delivering of these 
Presents is Seized of a good sure Perfect and 
Indefeasible estate of Inheritance in fee Simple 
of and in the Premises hereby Granted and re- 
leased and that they have Good Power and Law- 
ful and Absolute Authority to Grant and Convey 
the same to the said Isaac Lincoln in Manner and 
form aforesaid and that the said Premises now 
are and so forever hereafter shall remain and be 
free and Clear of and from all former and other 
Gifts Grants Bargains sales Dower rights and 
title of dower Judgments Executions Titles 
Troubles Charges and Encumbrances whatsoever 
made done Committed or suffered by the said 
John Lincoln & Rebeca his wife or any other Per- 
son or Persons whaostever [sic] (the Quit Rents 
hereafter to Grow due and Payable to our Sover- 
eign Lord the king his heirs and Successors for 
and in Respect of the Premises only excepted and 
Foreprized) And Lastly that the said John Lin- 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION I 17 

coin & Rebeca his Wife and there heirs all and Sin- 
gular the Premises hereby Granted & Released with 
the Appurtenances unto the said Isaac Lincoln 
his heirs and Assigns against them the said John 
Lincoln and Rebeca his Wife and their heirs & 
all and every other Person & Persons whatsoever 
shall warrant and forever defend by these Pres- 
ents In witness whereof the said John Lincoln 
and Rebeca his wife have hereunto set their hands 
and Seals the day and year first Written. 

John Lincoln, (L. S.) 

her 
Rebeckah R. Lincoln, (L. S.) 
mark 

Signed Sealed & Delivered— 
In the Presence of — 
Josiah Davison 

his 
Cornelius [B] Briant 
mark 
her 
Ann (.) Briant. 
mark 

At a Court held for Augusta County August the 
I 7&» 1773. 

This Release for Land from John Lincoln and 
Rebecah his wife to Isaac Lincoln was Proved 
by the Oaths of the witnesses thereto and Ordered 
to be Recorded. 

Teste John Madison 
A copy Teste : Harry Burnett, Clerk. 



Il8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



CHAPTER VII. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN OF VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY. 

Turning now to John Lincoln's son, Abraham, the 
grandfather of President Lincoln, we find him also 
carrying on extensive land transactions in Augusta 
County, Virginia, and later in Kentucky. In addi- 
tion to his land mentioned in the deed to Isaac Lin- 
coln, his brother, given above, he buys additional 
land. In a deed dated September 6, 1779, he buys 
of Holten Munsey and Else, his wife, a tract of 52 
acres of land for 500 pounds: 

This Indenture Made the sixth day of Sep- 
tember in the year of our Lord one thousand 
and Seven Hundred and Seventy Nine Between 
Holten Muncey and Eles [Else?] his Wife of the 
County of Rockingham and the State of Virginia 
of the one part and Abraham Lincoln of the County 
Afore Said and the State of Virginia of the Other 
Part Witnesseth that for and in Consideration 
of the sum of five Hundred Pounds Current 
Money of Virginia in hand Paid to the said Hol- 
ten Muncey and his Wife by the said Abraham 
Lincoln at Or before the Sealing and Delivery 
of these Presents the Receipt whereof they Doth 
hereby Acknowledge and thereof doth Release 
Acquit and discharge the Said Abraham Lincoln 
his heirs and assigns by these presents he the 
Said Holten Muncey hath granted Bargined Sold 
Aliened and Confirmed and by these Presents 
doth grant Bargain Sell Alien and Confirme rent 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION I IO, 

[unto?] the said Abraham Lincoln his heirs and 
Assigns for Ever one Sertain tract or Parsel of 
land Containing fifty two Acres lying and being 
on Linvils Creek in the County of Rockingham 
and Bounded as followeth Viz Begining at a white 
Oak on Said Lincolns Line thence Crossing the 
tract S. 42 W. 104 poles to A white Oak thence 
S. E. 34 Poles to A wite [sic] Oak tree and two 
Saplins thence N. 76 E. 76 Poales to a Locast 
Steak thence S. 52 E. 41 Poales to a Locast stake 
thence North 36 E 55 Poales to 2 Small hickeries 
thence with the old Line to the Beginning Corner 
Containing fifty two Accres Be the Same More 
or Less Being formerly Convaid to the Said Hol- 
ten Muncey by Tunis Vanpelt and Thomas Bri- 

ant by Deeds of Leas and Releas dated 

the said tract of Land being Part of A larger 
Tract of Seven thousand and Nine Acres Granted 
to Jost Hite Robert McCoy Robert Green and 
William Duff By Patent Bearing Date the twenty 
Six day of March 1739 and all houses Buildings 
orchards Ways waters water Corses profits Com- 
modities Hereditaments and Appurtenance What- 
soever to the Said Premises hereby Granted or 
Any Part Thereof Belonging to or in Any Wise 
Apertaining and the Reversion and Reversions 
Remainder and Remainders Rents Issues and 
Profits there of and also all the Estate Right Title 
Use Trust Profit or Claim or demand Whatso- 
ever of him the Said Holten Muncey of In and to 
the Said Premises and all Deeds Evidences and 
Writings Touching or in Any Wise Concerning 
the same to have and to hold the Lands hereby 
Conveyed and all and Singular other the prem- 



120 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

ises hereby bargained and Sold and every part 
and parcel thereof with their and every part of 
their appurtenances unto the said Abraham Lin- 
coln his heirs and assigns forever to the only 
proper use and Behoof of him the said Abraham 
Lincoln & of his heirs and assigns forever and 
the said Holton Muncey and Alee [=Elsi] his 
wife for themselves their heirs and assigns by 
these presents that Holton Muncey [and] Alee his 
wife now at the Time of Sealing and Delivering of 
these presents is Seized of a good Sure perfect and 
Indefeasable Estate of Inheritance in Fee simple 
of and in the said premises hereby granted and 
that they have good power Law full and absolute 
Right and Authority to grant and Convey the 
same to the said Abraham Lincoln in manner 
and form aforesaid and that the premises now 
are & so forever hereafter shall Remain and be 
free and Clear of and from all others and former 
gifts grants Bargains Sales Dower Right and 
Title of Dower — Judgments Executions Titles 
Troubles Charges and Incumbrances Whatsoever 
Made Done Committed or Suffered by the Said 
Holton Muncey or Alee his Wife or any other 
person or persons Whatsoever (The Assessment 
hereafter to grow Due and payable to the Collec- 
tor for the time being for the use of the Common- 
wealth of Virginia) for and in Respect of the 
premises only Excepted and and [sic] foreprized 
and the said Holton Muncey and Alee his wife and 
their heirs and all and Singular the premises here- 
by granted with their appurtenances unto the said 
Abraham Lincoln his heirs and assigns against 
them the said Holton Muncey and Alee his Wife 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 121 

and their heirs and all and every other person or 
persons Whatsoever Shall and Will Warrant and 
forever defend by these presents and Lastly that 
the said Holton Muncey and Alee his Wife and 
their heirs and every other person or persons and 
their heirs anything Having and Claiming in the 
premises herein before Mentioned or Intended to 
be hereby Bargained and sold shall and Will from 
time to time and at all times hereafter at the 
Reasonable request and at the proper Costs and 
Charges in the Law of him the Said Abraham 
Lincoln his heirs or assigns make do and execute 
or procure to be made done and executed all and 
every such farther and other Reasonable Act and 
Acts thing or things conveyances assurances for 
their Better and more effectual conveying and 
assuring the premises afforesaid with their and 
every of their apurtenances unto the said Abra- 
ham Lincoln his heirs and assigns as by the said 
Abraham Lincoln his heirs or assigns or their 
Council Learned in the Law shall be Reasonably 
advised Devised or Required. In Witness where- 
of the said Holton Muncey and Alee his Wife 
have herewith set their hands and Seals the day 
and year first above Written. 

holten Munsey (Seal) 
her 
Elsi [X] Muncy (Seal) 
mark 
Sealed and Delivered 

In the presence of 
John Heaton ^wm^^wtt 
Chas Mair f \- y •:. 

Jacob Lincoln 



122 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

At a court held for Rockingham County the 22 
Day of November 1779 This Deed of Bargain & 
Sale for Holton Muncy to Abraham Lincoln was 
proved by the Oaths of the witneses thereto & 
ordered to be recorded 

Test. Pet'. Hog C. R. c. 

Monsey 

to 

Lincoln No & Sale 91 

Record d & Exam d 

? Ervin C. R. C. 

Recorded in Burnt Records 
Deed Book No. O page 53 
C. H. Brunk D. C. 

[The correct form of the name in this deed 
seems to be 'Holten' although toward the end of 
the deed it is written 'Holton.' It will be noted 
too that the last name is written 'Munsey' 'Mun- 
cey,' 'Muncy.' In like manner the wife's name 
is written 'Eles,' 'Alee,' and 'Elsi' (in the signa- 
ture).] 

The next year, 1780, we find a most important 
land transaction of this Abraham Lincoln, the son 
of "Virginia John," recorded in a deed dated Feb- 
ruary 18, 1780. By this document Abraham Lin- 
coln and his wife, "Batseb" (Bethsheba), sell to 
Michael Shanks and John Ruef, also of the same 
county (now Rockingham), 250 acres (part of the 
original purchase of John Lincoln), for the sum of 
5000 pounds. This price seems very high, but it 



/ 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 23 

must be remembered that Abraham Lincoln paid half 
that price (10 pounds per acre) for the 52 acres 
bought the year before. The text of the deed fol- 
lows: 

This Indenture made the Eighteenth day of 
Feberuary [sic] in the Year of our Lord one 
thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Between 
Abraham Lincolen of the County of Rockingham 
and State of Virginia and Bersheba [Bethsheba? 
not Barbara as the deed book has it] his wife of 
the one part and Michel shanks and John Reuf 
[Ruef] of the county and State aforesaid of the 
other Part Witnesseth that for and in consid- 
eration of the sume of five Thousand Poundes 
Current money of Virginia in hand paid unto the' 
said Ab m Lincolen By the Said Michel shanks 
at or Before the sealing and Delivery of these 
presents the Receipt whereof they doth hereby 
acknowledge and and thereof doth Release 
aquit and Discharge the Said Michal [sic] shanks 
his Heirs and assigns by these presents he the 
said Ab m Lincolen hath Granted Bargained Sold 
Alien'd and Confirmed and by these presents 
doth grant Bargain sell alien and Confirm unto 
the said Michal shanks and their heirs and as- 
signs for ever one Certain Tract of Land Con- 
taining two hundred and fifty acres Being a part 
of twele [twelve] hundred acres Granted to Mc- 
Kay Duff Green and Hite By patent bearing Date 
twenty six dayes [sic] March 1739 and by them 
Convey'd to Robert McKay by Deeds of Lease 
and Release bearing date the nineteenth and 



124 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

twenty Dayes of June 1746 and by the Said Rob- 
ert McKay Devised to the afor said Zacha- 
riah mcKay Moses McKay Robert McKay 
and the aforsaid McKayes convey to John Lin- 
colen six hundred acres of the forsaid Land by 
Deed of Lease and Realse [sic?] bearing Date 
the twenty Second day of June 1768 and John 
Lincolen Conveyed apart of this within mentioned 
two hundred and fifty acres to Abraham Lincolen 
and Tunis Vanpelt Thos Bryan and Holten Mun- 
cey Conveyed the Rest the said Land to abrm 
Lincolen Lying and being on the North side of 
Linvils Creek Beginning at a Locust Stake and 
walnut stump on the North side of Linvils Creek 
thence along the old Line South thirty seven De- 
grees West Seventy Eight Poles to a black oak 
corner to Tunis Vanpelt North fifty five and a 
half Degrees West one hundred and twenty four 
poles to white oak one [sic] said line: south forty 
two Degrees West one hundred & four Poles to a 
whit oak South East thirty Poles to white oak 
and two Sapplins North Seventy six Degrees 
East seventy six Poles near to a white oak South 
twenty five Degrees East forty one Poles to a 
locust Stake North thirty six Degrees East fifty 
eight Poles to two smal Hicorys south fifty five 
y 2 Degrees East one Hundred and Thirty six 
poles to the Creek near a sycemore [sic] and 
thorn thence down the Creek the several courses 
to a walnut to his B r Isaces [sic] line North 
fifty four Degrees West two hundred and 
forty Poles to two small white oak North thirty 
one Degrees East sixteen Poles to a black oak 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 12 e 

Saplin on the old lin * * * with all Houses 
Buildings orchards wayes water Courses Profits 
Commoditys Hereditaments and appurtenances 
whatsoever to the Said Premises hereby granted 
or any part thereof Belonging or in any wise ap- 
pertaining and the Reversion and Reversions 
Remainder and Remainders Rents Issues & 
Profits thereof and also all the Estate Right Title 
use Trust Property or Claim or Demand whatso- 
ever of him the Said Abraham Lincolen of In 
and to the Said Premises and all Deeds Evi- 
dences and writings Touching or In any wise 
Concerning the same To Have and to Hold the 
land hereby conveyed and all and Singular other 
the Premises hereby Bargained and sold and Ev- 
ery Part and Parcle thereof with their and every 
of their appurtenances unto the said man Michal 
shanks His Heirs and assigns for Ever to the 
only proper use and Behoof of them Michal 
Shanks and of his heirs and assigns for ever and 
the Said Abraham Lincolen and Bashaba his wife 
for them selves theire Heirs and assigns by these 
Presents Ab m Lincolen and his wife at the time 
of the Sealing and Delivery of these Presents 
is Seized of a good Sure Perfect and Indefeaz- 
able Estate of Inheritance In fee Simple of and 
In the said premises Hereby Granted and he 
Hath good Power and Lawfull and absolute 
right and authority to grant and Convey the 
same to the said Michal Shanks In manner and 
form aforsaid and that the premises now are and 
so for ever hereafter shall remain and be free 
and clear of and from all former and other Gifts 



126 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Grants Bargains Sales rights titles of Dowers 
Dower Judgments Executions Titles Troubles 
Charges and Incumberances whatsoever Made 
done Commited or Suffred By the said Ab m 
Lincolen and Basheba his wife or any other per- 
son or persons whatsoever the assement [assess- 
ment] hereafter to grow dwe [due] and Pay- 
able to the Collectors for the Time being for the 
use of the Commonwealth of Virginia for and 
In Prospect of the Said Premises only Excepted 
and forprized and the said Ab m Lincolen and 
Bathsheba his wife and theire Heirs all and sin- 
gular the Premises hereby granted with the ap- 
purtenances unto the said Michal shanks His heirs 
and assigns against them the said Ab m Lincolen 
and Bathshaba his weife [sic] and theire heirs and 
all and Every other Person [or] Persons whatso- 
ever shall and will Warrent and for Ever Defend 
by these Presents and Lastly that the said Ab m 
Lincolen and Bathshabe his weife and theire Heirs 
and Every other Person or Persons and theire 
Heirs any thing having and Claiming In the 
Premises herein before mentioned or Intended to 
be hereby Bargained and sold shall and will from 
time to time and at all Times hereafter at the 
Reasonable Request and at the proper cost and 
charges in the Laue of them the Said Michal 
shanks His heirs or assigns make do and Exe- 
cute or Procure to be made done and Executed 
all and Ewery such further and other Reasonable 
Act and acts thing or things Conveyances and 
assurances for theire further Better and more 
Effectual, Conveying and Assuring the Premises 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 27 

aforsaid with their and Every of their appurten- 
ances unto the said Michal Shanks His Heirs and 
assigns as by the said Abraham Lincolen his heirs 
or assignes or their councils Learned in the Laue 
shall be Reasonable advised Devised or Required 
in Witness whereof the said Abraham Lincolen 
and Bathsheba his weufe [sic] Hath Hereunto set 
theire hand and seal the day & year first above 

written 

Ab m Lincoln 

Batseb Lincon 
Seal'd and Deliver'd 
In Presence of 

Charles Mair 
Solomon Mathews 
George Chrisman 

At a court held for Rockingham County the 26 
Day of June 1780 This Deed of Bargain & Sale 
from Abraham Lincoln & Bersheba his Wife to 
Michael Shanks was proved by the Oath of 
Charles Mair & George Chrisman & by the Sol- 
emn affirmation of Solomon Mathews the wit- 
nesses thereto and ordered to be recorded by the 
Court. Pet'. Hog C. R. C. 

This sale was made about the time Abraham Lin- 
coln purchased land in Kentucky. The next record 
we have of him is found in the Land Office of Larue 
County, Kentucky. The original grant is repro- 
duced here and shows the form "Linkhorn" which 
has given rise to the theory of the German origin 
of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln soon went with his 



128 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

family, including his son Thomas, the father of the 
President, to settle in Kentucky (then a part of 
Virginia). 

The following additional land transactions of the 
Lincolns are recorded in the deed books of Harrison- 
burg, Virginia, before 1802: 

Grantee Jacob Lincoln, Aug. 28, 1778, Grantor Tunis 

Vanpelt, book 00, p. 344. 
Grantor Isaac Lincoln, Apr. 24, 1779, Grantee John 

Kring (?), book 000, p. 345. 
Grantor Isaac Lincoln, Apr. 24, 1779, Grantee Philip 

Rimel ( ?), book 000, p. 345- 
Grantee John Lincoln, Apr. 28, 1787, Grantors John 

Thomas et ux., book 00, p. 362. 
Grantee John Lincoln, Sept. 28, 1790, Grantor Robert 

Harrison, book 00, p. 371. 
Grantors Thomas Lincoln et ux., July 25, 1791, Grantee 

Jacob Lincoln, book 000, 373. 
Grantee John Lincoln, Apr. 28, 1794, Grantor Henry 

Whisler, book 00, p. 25. 
Grantee John Lincoln, June 28, 1796, Grantors Henry 

Nave et ux., book 00, p. 160. 
Grantee John Lincoln, Oct. 28, 1796, Grantor Jacob 

Casner, book 00, p. 181. 
Grantee Jacob Lincoln, Oct. 16, 1797, Grantors Thomas 

Vance et ux., book 00, p. 252. 
Grantee Jacob Lincoln, July 16, 1798, Grantor Thomas 

Leach, book 00, p. 298. 
Grantors John Lincoln et ux., June 21, 1801, Grantee John 

Raider, book 000, p. 433. 

The following early epitaphs were found in the 
old Lincoln Burying Ground on Linville Creek : 

To the I Memory | of | Jacob Lincoln S r who 
was born on the 18 th day of November 1751 



13 

JO 

M 

73 

W 

z 

H 
< 



o 



O: 

SB . 



■ o 

8* 

r g 

> M 

o - 



> 

73 
73 

ffl 

71 

H 

a 

O 

c 



X 

w 




AN AMERICAN MIGRATION i 2 Q 

and I departed this life on the | 20 th day of Feb- 
ruary 1822 I aged 71 years 9 Months | and 2 days 
Sacred | to the Memory of | John Lincoln I 
who departed this life | on the 13th [ ?] day of 
July 1818 I aged 35 years | and 5 months and 4 
days. 

Abraham Lincoln | Born March 15 | 1799 I 
Died June 18. 1851 | Aged 52 years 2 mo's I & 
29 days. 

It will thus appear that the interests of the Lin- 
coins in the Linville Creek Region were extensive. 
Later it was complicated by the arrival of other 
members of the Lincoln family from Pennsylvania. 
Mordecai Lincoln, son of Mordecai the elder of Exe- 
ter, settled in Union Township, Fayette County, and 
died there in 1812. Most of his children seem to have 
gone to settle in the Valley of Virginia. Michael 
Lincoln, the son of Thomas, son of Mordecai, the 
elder, of Exeter, settled in Buffalo Valley. Hananiah 
Lincoln, son of Mordecai of Exeter, after serving in 
the 1 2th Pennsylvania Regiment in the Revolution, 
joined Daniel Boone's settlement in Kentucky,' 
Sarah Lincoln, daughter of Mordecai of Exeter,' 
married Joshua Davis, of the Juniata Valley. 



I30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FORMS OF THE NAME LINCOLN. 

The argument in support of the theory that Abra- 
ham Lincoln was sprung from a German family by 
the name of Linkhorn (written also Lincorn, Linck- 
orn, Linckhorn), was based primarily upon this sup- 
posable German form of the name, and, secondly, 
upon the fact that Abraham Lincoln, the President 
of the United States, was descended from a family 
of that name in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It 
will now be in place to discuss the validity of this 
argument in the light of the documents already pre- 
sented in the foregoing pages. 

The documents relating to the Lincoln family, 
ranging all the way from Massachusetts to Ken- 
tucky, exhibit the following well authenticated forms 
of the name Lincoln. In Masachusetts we find "Lin- 
coln," "Lincoen," a form in Abraham Lincoln's 
direct line. In the New Jersey documents we find 
"Lincoln," "Lincon," "Lincen," "Lincorn," Linc- 
korn." In Pennsylvania we find "Lincoln," "Link- 
coin," "Lincolin," "Lincorn," "Lingorn," "Lin- 
korn," "Linkoln," "Linkoon." In Maryland we 
find "Lincoln," "Lincolne," "Linckhorn." In Vir- 
ginia we find "Lincoln," "Lincolen," "Lincon." In 
Kentucky we find "Lincoln," "Linkhorn." Thus 
summing up the important forms we have the fol- 






-■/ 









. %r>^ria 4 



4. 

£*r Wry 







>/. 



"+•*? • '' < 



~— — +• 



*-r ci — 



y7Z if* '■S</>'*^ /***<' 



f-J, // l I *~^ ^ A '. I £ fa Y, ty ^ 












//*_ /%£*&.'#?.'• 



Marriage Certificate ok Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. 
{ By the Courtesy of Col. R. T. Durrett.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 131 

lowing: Lincoln, Lincolne, Lincolen, Linkcoln, 
Lincon, Lincoen, Lincen, Linckon, Linkon, Link- 
hoon, Linkom, Linkhorn. In addition to these 
forms of the name, that of "Linton" also has been 
considered as synonymous with "Lincoln," but as 
it seems, only sporadically, if at all. 

As we have seen, the name and family of Lincoln 
have been traced back to New England and thence 
back to Old England, to the neighborhood of Hing- 
ham, whence a number of the New England settlers 
came to Massachusetts and here formed a settlement, 
which likewise was called Hingham. The name Lin- 
coln itself is one of frequent occurrence in English 
records, and is applied both to persons and to places. 
It is usually derived from the two words Lind and 
Colonia, which as a compound, under the laws of 
euphonic change, would give Lincolonia and Lin- 
colne or Lincoln. 

The correct and, at the same time, the most per- 
sistent form of the name is Lincoln. All the other 
forms are but natural variations in the speech of the 
people or in the orthography of the scribe. There 
seems to be no evidence that any of the forms of the 
name are of German origin. The form which gave 
rise to the theory of Lincoln's German ancestry was, 
of course, Linkhorn and its variations, which occur, 
as we have seen, over almost the entire territory 
through which the family migrated. 

In order to make the argument clearer, let us ex- 
amine the various forms of the name and their iden- 



I32 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tity, from the philological point of view. The form 
Lincolne explains itself, as a variant spelling quite 
common in the colonial and earlier records. The 
form Linkoln is simply a more phonetic spelling 
with "k" instead of hard "c." The form Linkolen 
is the same form with the liquid made more vocalic 
by the addition of an "e" before the "n," which is 
a very common characteristic of the folkspeech. The 
form Lincoin or Line en is simply a vocalization of 
the liquid "1," which is also a common phonetic phe- 
nomenon. The forms Lincon, Linckon, Linkon, all 
represent the same sound and exhibit a form of the 
name in which the liquid has become silent and thus 
dropped in the pronunciation as well as in the 
orthography — also a well-known phenomenon in the 
folkspeech. The pseudo-German forms, Linkhorn, 
Linkom, Lincorn, which seem to offer the most diffi- 
culty, are really very simple, well authenticated pho- 
netic changes which are found in the literatures and 
are still going on in the speech of both Germanic and 
Romanic peoples, namely, the simple interchange of 
liquids, in this case the substitution of r for /. 
Thus we see that all of the forms of the name Lin- 
coln are natural variants, entirely in keeping with the 
traditions of English speech and orthography. 

Having disposed of the pseudo-German form of 
the name, let us consider the occurrence of it outside 
of the Lincoln family. If the presumable German 
forms, Linkom, Lincorn, etc., were German, we 
should naturally expect to find them occurring as 



— — g ^^.--^ i. „ ^u^ i ». .j . . ■■■ ■< 'w ■■^tyuu' . ■ 

^.,.,/Vf«.' fry //**»■>* J., A ,„J5% A*/ for ■' ' ■ •■.trtrr- 

./< *,„,....•> (,„,„.,*/> ,*~...y ■■///»/>■*■/ ^- V ' ^ '' 

^ ... '.'•..■ 

......... 1 , ■ -f-^jittt.,^. ,•_ a, . „ ^ y^,.-a fa.k.. . T . . . .. --.. ...-xr... | ... . .. ,.. . A 



y/a /«. or /t cti/<*< /{•. 

//tLs A lit #/*■*< &4-itnf. $, / 

Marriage Bond and Certificate of Thomas Lincoln. 
(By Courtesy of Col. R. T. Durrett ) 




AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 33 

independent German names in lists of German set- 
tlers or in German communities, where they could 
not possibly be confused with the English name Lin- 
coln. A diligent search, however, in the directories 
of the most German communities of Pennsylvania, 
has failed to produce a single occurrence of the 
name, not identical with that of Lincoln. Neither 
city directories, nor land papers, nor other local rec- 
ords seem to contain any such German name. 

That these supposed German forms of the name 
are all clearly understood to be variations of the 
name Lincoln, is amply attested and positively dem- 
onstrated by the documents themselves, and particu- 
larly by the signatures, which show that all these 
variations of the name are identical with the forms 
Lincoln and Lincon, which often occur in two or 
three forms in the same document. The final incon- 
testible proof of the identity of the forms Linkhorn, 
etc., with Lincoln, etc., however, is found in two doc- 
uments in the land records. One of these documents 
is a deed dated May 26, 1726, conveying land from 
Richard Salter, of New Jersey, to Mordecai Lincon 
(or Lincen). The document contains this statement 
in regard to the form of the name Lincen or Lincon : 

John Anderson Examined & agrees with the 
original the word (Lincen) in the 11 th line under- 
lined was by mistake in Recording. John Terrill 
Reg (see p. 26 above). 

This shows clearly the identification of the form 



134 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Lincoln, which is the normal form recognized by the 
scribe in this document, and the form Lincen or 
Li neon. 

The other document mentioned above furnishes 
the clinching argument for the identity of the sup- 
posed German form of the name with the usual 
English form, Lincoln. The document in question 
is a deed recorded in City Hall, Philadelphia, bear- 
ing date April 4, 1794, and conveying land from 
Philip Price and Hannah, his wife, of Kingsessing 
Township, Philadelphia County, to Abraham Linck- 
horn, of the same township. This document con- 
tains the following notable passage : 

"N. B. The surname of the second party to 
this Indenture has been mispelled through Mis- 
information to the Scrivener, tho commonly pro- 
nounced as it is speled above, it is written 
Lincoln." 

Thus the name Lincoln, like the family, is not 
German but English. The tradition which has taken 
such a hold upon the German American mind as to 
give rise even to German poetry on Abraham Lin- 
coln as a German, must be considered as without 
historic foundation. 






.y . 'cTyQ- //• -- ■ / • - --.'•" 

/ ' ' ' ' ' jts /^**>6>t6K, 

c /A ' .§'—***& 

/ J?' '''."'''"'■' '-'A'/, ".v-"* as&fti ayitft) a/«rt>t , .'/// <&*%£„ v4%, S 









1 y&*ffi4Z .:< . 



-' 




■■'<'•' . ,-><• . 



Deed Showing the Correct Name of "Lincoln," not "Linkhorn." 
(Original in City Hall, Philadelphia.) 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 35 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE LINCOLN MIGRATION TYPICALLY AMERICAN. 

One of the most important results of genealogical 
research in this country is, or should be, the new 
light shed upon colonization and settlement in 
America and the motives prompting migration to 
new lands. It will appear from the foregoing re- 
searches that the Lincoln family is one of the most 
typical and significant in American history. 

The motive prompting the migration of the Lin- 
colns through the various provinces reflects in each 
instance an important fact in the history of our 
early settlements. In the first movement of the Lin- 
colns from Hingham and other parts of England, 
they were prompted by the widespread desire to seek 
a more favorable sphere of activity in the new 
world. They formed part of a larger company of 
emigrants who acquired land in the colony of 
Massachusetts. It was one of those concerted emi- 
grations from a particular locality in the Old World 
with the purpose of making a compact settlement 
in the new land beyond the sea. 

It can be clearly seen that the Lincoln family, like 
most large families, represented a variety of occu- 
pations. One was a yeoman, another a miller, 
another a weaver, all alert to the opportunities of 
improving their several trades in the new environ- 



I36 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

merit. So we have Thomas Lincoln, the yeoman or 
husbandman, Thomas Lincoln, the miller, Samuel 
Lincoln, the weaver, or at least the hired-man, or, 
probably more exactly, the apprentice of a weaver. 
As subsequent events indicate, the blacksmith trade 
was doubtless understood and practiced by some of 
the family. 

It is the trade and industry of working iron which 
seems to furnish a clue to the motive of the sons of 
Mordecai Lincoln of Hull in their migration from 
Massachusetts to New Jersey. Their father, Mor- 
decai of Hull, had already become an important 
factor in the iron industry of Massachusetts, having, 
as we have seen, a considerable share in the erection 
of the iron works at Bound Brook, Massachusetts, 
and having brought the iron industry to the highest 
point of perfection in the colony at that time by 
building a Catalan forge for making wrought iron. 
It is significant that Mordecai Lincoln and Abraham, 
his brother, sons of Mordecai of Hull, migrated to 
that part of New Jersey in which iron had been 
found — the Red Bank region — evidently with the 
expectation that they might be able to develop the 
iron industry in New Jersey. In addition to 
their interests in iron, they naturally acquired land 
in the new settlement and became important land- 
owners as well as ironmongers. We find Mordecai 
Lincoln mentioned later as ironmonger in Pennsyl- 
vania, and Abraham we find designated as 
"blacksmith", in addition to their occupation as 
yeomen. 




V 4 



A" | # v '• . .,' - . -r ' ' ' " ■ 

,.- '+,. ..' , *»' -<J. ..'.. f . .. ' •" '• 

-fc~i — _^ *■■-,.;« _._ /" • 

OLD LINCOLN CABIN. 

Tfl/i» SPR/HG-r/E-LD WASHINGTON m u M r y_ K V 



(By the Courtesy of Mr. Thomas B. Kirpatrik, of Hodgenville, Ky. 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 37 

It is therefore, more than a simple accident, or 
coincidence, that we find Mordecai Lincoln taking 
up land later in the French Creek region, that part 
of Pennsylvania in which the iron industry was 
developing and in which he erects a forge and car- 
ries on extensive iron operations, thus deserving the 
appellation of "ironmonger" in the old deed. In the 
case of Abraham, who settled in Springfield Town- 
ship, Chester County, Pennsylvania, other motives 
may have operated to determine the place of his 
settlement. In the early land records of Philadel- 
phia County, we find the name Saltar before 1700, 
showing that the Saltars had purchased land in 
Pennsylvania. As Mordecai Lincoln had married 
Hannah Saltar, it is quite likely that his attention, 
as well as that of his brother, Abraham, had been 
directed by the Saltar connections to the counties of 
Philadelphia and Chester, and that both might have 
settled nearer Philadelphia but for the fact that Mor- 
decai wished to carry on the industry of mining and 
smelting iron, and so sought out the region of iron 
deposits along French Creek. 

In the case of the sons of Mordecai Lincoln, the 
elder, of Exeter, Pennsylvania, son of Mordecai of 
Hull, Massachusetts, we find some of the old tradi- 
tional trades re-appearing, as for example in John 
Lincoln, who is mentioned in the land record as 
"Weaver", showing that he had the trade of the 
great-great grandfather Samuel Lincoln, the weaver- 
apprentice and immigrant in Massachusetts. 



I38 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

The migration of the Lincolns from Pennsylvania 
to Virginia and other parts of the South and West, 
reflects one of the most important movements of 
American population — the movement along the 
Great Valley and across the mountains into the 
valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. It is along 
this route that the migration of the Lincolns moved 
from Berks County, Pennsylvania. 

As early as 1 710, the Swiss and Palatine Germans 
under the guidance of De Graffenried settled at New 
Bern, North Carolina, but were soon afterward 
attacked by the Indians and massacred or dispersed. 
The survivors took refuge in Virginia and formed a 
settlement at Germanna in 1714. The eyes of the 
Virginians had already been opened a hundred years 
before to the excellent qualities of the German set- 
tlers as artisans and farmers. Governor Spottswood 
now encouraged the Palatines to settle on his lands. 
Even before 1720 the provincial council of Virginia 
had devoted special attention to a general plan of 
settling Palatines in the uplands of Virginia. 

In this year, 1720, John van Meter, a trader from 
the Hudson River region in New York, made a pros- 
pecting tour through the South Branch region of 
Virginia. 1727 Isaac van Meter, the son of John, 
visited the same region of Virginia. Meanwhile, 
isolated settlers seem to have taken up land in the 
Valley of Virginia. Adam Miller appears to have 
settled there near Massanutting in 1726 or 1727. In 
the year 1730, Isaac van Meter, and John his 
brother, sons of the elder John, received patents of 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 39 

land from Governor Gonch, of Virginia. John van 
Meter patented 10,000 acres at the forks of the 
Shenandoah (Sherando or Shenando) and Cedar 
Creek, Cedar Lick and Strong Lick, and 20,000 
acres farther below. Isaac van Meter patented 
10,000 acres in the lower valley. 

In the year 1728 a serious event turned the atten- 
tion of Pennsylvania settlers toward Virginia. In 
this year the Indians made a hostile attack upon the 
settlement of Falkner Swamp and Goschenhoppen. 
The settlers of Cold Brook Dale sent a petition to 
Governor Gordon, of Pennsylvania, asking him to 
protect them against the savages. Many of the 
settlers, feeling insecure in Pennsylvania, began to 
look for more favorable conditions in other prov- 
inces, and naturally turned their eyes in the direction 
of Maryland and Virginia, toward which settlers 
were beginning to move along the eastern slopes of 
the Blue Ridge. 

In the year 1732 Jost Hite (Justus Heid), a na- 
tive of Strassburg in Elsass, purchased land of the 
Van Meters on the Opequon Creek and settled some 
sixteen families from Lancaster County, Pennsyl- 
vania. Among the names of these settlers were, 
George Bowman, Jacob Chrisman, Paul Froman 
(all three sons-in-law of Hite), Robert McKay, 
William Duff and Peter Stephen. They took the 
route of the old Monocacy Road, by way of Har- 
per's Ferry, and settled five miles to the north of the 
present Winchester. In 1733 Jacob Stauffer (or 
Stover) received a grant of 5000 acres of land in 



I4O ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the Gerando (Shenando) region, farther up the ^ 'Jt 
valley, toward the present site of Harrisonburg. The 
old name of Strasburg, was Staufferstadt, and per- 
petuated the name of this early settler. In 1736 
Peter Bowman appears among the settlers, and in 
1738 Peter Franciscus. In 1746 we find William /> 
Lenivell (or Linvill) taking up land along the Lin- 
ville Creek, which now bears his name. 

A glance at the names of these early settlers in & , 

the Valley of Virginia, and the references in the Rm^W-S- 
land records show that many of them came from 
what was old Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (in- 
cluding later Lancaster, York and Lebanon). The 
earlier names, like "Bowman", "Franciscus", 
"Funk", point directly to the early settlers in the 
Pequea region of Lancaster County (then Chester 
County) of 17 10. Likewise the name "Lenivell" 
or "Linvill" is one of frequent occurrence in Lan- 
caster County, covering entire pages of the old deed 
books in the Recorder's office. 

The contact between John Lincoln and this early 
migration to Virginia is twofold. In the first place 
John Lincoln owned land in Caernarvon Township, 
Lancaster County, as well as in Amity and Union, 
Berks County, and naturally came into touch with 
the residents of that region who were migrating to 
Virginia. In the second place he had a special 
instance of such migration in his adventurous 
neighbor and friend, Daniel Boone, of Oley. 

Daniel Boone, of Oley, had set out with his 
father and kinsman from Berks County, Pennsyl- 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 



141 



vania, in 1750, with a view to settling in the Great 
Valley. They took the usual route by Harper's 
Ferry and passed up the Shenandoah Valley. Tradi- 
tion says— in this instance it doubtless reflects 
history— that the Boones tarried a while on Linville 
Creek, six miles north of Harrisonburg, Virginia. 
In the following year, 1751, the Boones pressed on 
through the Valley of Virginia to the Yadkin region, 
where Squire Boone, Daniel's father, chose a claim 
at Buffalo Lick, at the junction of Dutchman's Creek 
and the north point of the Yadkin. 

The ties of friendship between the Lincolns and 
the Boones in Berks County were drawn closer by 
the marriage of Abraham Lincoln, the posthumous 
son of Mordecai, the elder, of Exeter, to Anna 
Boone, July the 10th, 1760. It was thus natural 
that John Lincoln, or "Virginia John", as he was 
later called, and his kinsmen should be informed 
of the wanderings of the Boones in the Great Valley. 
Thus the motive of John Lincoln's migration to 
Virginia is easily found. He, unlike the other sons 
of Mordecai Lincoln, the elder, of Exeter, was not 
attached to the soil of Pennsylvania by inheritance 
but by the purchase of land, having received his part 
of his father's estate in New Jersey, and afterwards 
sold it for cash. Then, too, the opportunities of 
acquiring large tracts of land in the Valley of Vir- 
ginia at a moderate price, and the fact that his 
kinsmen and neighbors, the Boones, had already 
migrated thither furnished further incentive. 



142 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

The exact date of John Lincoln's migration from 
Berks County, Pennsylvania, to Augusta County, 
Virginia, cannot be fixed, but it must have been 
between 1765, the year in which John Lincoln's 
name ceases to appear in the tax lists of Berks 
County, and 1768, the year in which he appears as 
a resident of Augusta County, Virginia. As we have 
seen he sold the major part of his land in Pennsyl- 
vania between the years 1763 and 1765. It is quite 
likely that he went to Virginia in 1765 or 1766, and 
like the Boones tarried in the Linville Creek region 
until he could decide upon a place of residence. 
Instead of following the Boones on to the Yadkin, 
he purchased land on Linville Creek from the 
McKays (or McCoys) and others who had received 
an original grant. As the land records show, John 
Lincoln later in life conveyed his land to his sons. 

It will be remembered that Daniel Boone set out 
from North Carolina for Transylvanian Virginia, 
that region which is now known as Kentucky. In 
1773 the Boones, with their families, left the Yadkin 
to settle in the land then recently explored by Daniel 
Boone, and met with the disastrious massacre in the 
Cumberland Gap. Meanwhile this region, which 
had been entered twenty years before by Governor 
Spottswood, now attracted the attention of the 
Washingtons — George Washington and his brothers 
— of the Lees, and even of Benjamin Franklin. 
Hundreds of settlers began to pour in through the 
Ohio Valley, and founded the town of Louisville. 






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Warrant Issued to Abraham Lincoln, in Kentucky, Show inc. hie Name " Linkiiorn." 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 1 43 

Early in the year 1780, three hundred so-called 
family boats are said to have arrived at the Falls of 
the Ohio. The Legislature of Virginia passed laws 
for the protection and encouragement of the new 
settlers. 

Naturally, the cismontane Virginians were eager 
to seize the opportunity of acquiring new fertile 
lands at the normal price of forty cents per acre. 
It was in the midst of this rush for land in the Ohio 
Valley, in the year 1780, that Abraham Lincoln, of 
Linville Creek, Virginia, purchased four hundred 
acres of land in Transylvanian Virginia, for the 
sum of $160, and soon afterwards, having disposed 
of his land on Linville Creek, as we have already 
seen from the old deed, set out for the Valley of the 
Ohio. The original warrant for this purchase of 
four hundred acres, is here reproduced in fac-simile 
and will speak for itself. The survey is dated May 
7< 1785- 

In addition to this purchase, Abraham Lincoln 
owned other lands in Kentucky. According to the 
researches made by Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of 
Louisville, Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln owned the 
following tracts of land in that region : 

1. A tract containing four hundred acres, on 
Long Run, a branch of Floyd's Fork, in Jefferson 
County, entered May 29th, 1 780. 

2. A tract of eight hundred acres on Green River, 
near Green River Lick, entered June 7th, 1780. 



144 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

3. A tract of five hundred acres in Campbell 
County, surveyed September 27, 1798, and patented 
June 30th, 1799, but taken up before his death in 
1784. 

The tract of 500 acres, entered by Daniel Boone 
in his Field Book, would seem to indicate still an- 
other purchase of land in the present Kentucky by 
Abraham Lincoln. The warrant is No. 5994 and 
Boone's survey entry is dated December 11, 1782. 
A fac-simile may be found in Nicolay and Hay's 
Abraham Lincoln. 

The tradition that Abraham Lincoln went to 
North Carolina is doubtless a reminiscence of the 
route which he took to his newly acquired lands in 
the present State of Kentucky. He followed nat- 
urally Boone's Wilderness Road, and probably joined 
a company of settlers going that way at the time. 

Thus we have followed the Lincolns in their 
wanderings to the West, that region now known as 
Kentucky, then still a part of the old territory of Vir- 
ginia. Abraham Lincoln was killed, as tradition has 
it, in 1784, by the Indians, while at work with his 
sons, Mordecai, Josiah and Thomas, in the clearings. 
The older boys ran for help, Mordecai to the house 
for the gun, and Josiah to the fort for men. Morde- 
cai returned with the gun in time to shoot the Indian 
who was just about to scalp his six-year-old brother, 
Thomas. This Thomas was the father of Abraham 
Lincoln, the President of the United States. 

It was the irony of American migration which 




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Survey of the First Warrant of Land to Abraham Lincoln in 

Kentucky (then Virginia). 



AN AMERICAN MIGRATION 14c 

reared the great emancipator of the slaves on the 
Blue Grass soil of Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln 
was in a peculiar sense the heir of all the great Amer- 
ican traditions. Sprung from an English family 
which had been inured to the hardships of New 
England, tarried among the early Dutch and English 
settlers of East Jersey, taken root and thrown among 
the Germans and Quakers of Pennsylvania, shared 
the adventures and perils of the frontier life of Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln was the best 
example of that sturdy, fearless American citizen- 
ship, great not because he made far-seeing plans of 
self-glorification, but because he possessed that in- 
herent heroism and devotion to duty which pre- 
pared him for all emergencies, even those of civil 
war, and won for him the enduring names of Eman- 
cipator of American Slaves and Martyr President of 
the Republic of Freemen. 




Map of the Migration of the Lincolns from Hingham, Mass., to Kentucky 

The Marks X Indicates Hingham, Mass., Red Bank, N. J., Coventry, Pa., 
Linville's Creek, Ya., and Hodgenville, Ky. 



INDEX OF LINCOLNS REFERRED TO IN 
THIS WORK 

Lincoln, Abraham, President i, 2, 6, 67, 145 

Lincoln (Lincon), Abraham, of Exeter 67, 68, 70, 77 

79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 141 
Lincoln, Abraham, son of Abraham, of Springfield, 

54. 57. 58, 61, 62, 67, 136 

Lincoln (Lincon), Abraham, of Springfield 7, 9, 32, 33 

34. 35. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43- 44. 45 
47. 48, 51, 52, 53. 54. 57, 60, 63 

Lincoln, Abraham, of Va 2, 118 et seq., 134, 143 et seq. 

Lincoln, Abraham M 97 

Lincoln, Anna (Boone) 81, 93 

Lincoln, Ann, daughter of Mordecai and Julian 97 

Lincoln, Ann, daughter of John D 99 

Lincoln, Ametia no 

Lincoln, Alice Dehaven 9 8 

Lincoln, Alfred pg 

Lincoln, Anne g 

Lincoln, Anne, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 95 

Lincoln, Anne, daughter of Mordecai, of Exeter 28 

Lincoln, Anna, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 95 

Lincoln, Bathseba 

Lincoln, Catarina 65 

Lincoln, Daniel, of Mass 5 

Lincoln, Daniel, of Pa 65 

Lincoln, David J pg 

Lincoln, Deborah 21 

Lincoln, Elizabeth, daughter of John D 99 

Lincoln, Elizabeth, wife of Thomas, of Berks 77, 78 

Lincoln, Elizabeth, of Scituate 7 

Lincoln, George, of Hingham 6 

Lincoln, Hannah, daughter of Mordecai, of Exeter 28 

Lincoln, Hannah (Saltar) 10, 11, 13, 21 

Lincoln, Harrison H 99 

Lincoln, Harrison P 81, 99 

Lincoln, Isaac, of Hull 7 

(147) 



I48 INDEX 

Lincoln, Isaac, son of Abraham, of Springfield, 

55, 56. 57, 58. 63, 64, 65 

Lincoln, Isaac, son of "Virginia John" 116, 128 

Lincoln, Jacob 65 

Lincoln, Jacob, of Scituate 7 

Lincoln, Jacob, son of Abraham, of Springfield, 

54, 60, 61, 62, 65 

Lincoln. Jacob, son of "Virginia John" 121, 128 

Lincoln, James, son of Abraham, of Exeter 95, 99 

Lincoln, John, son of Abraham, of Exeter 96, 99 

Lincoln, John, son of Abraham, of Springfield. .54, 56, 57, 65 

Lincoln, John, son of Jacob 65 

Lincoln, John, son of John D 99 

Lincoln, John ("Virginia John"), son of Mordecai, of Exeter, 
28, 67, 80, 100, 101. 102, 104, 105, 106. 107, 108 

109, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 122, 140, 141, 142 

Lincoln, John D 81, 98, 99 

Lincoln, John, of Witherne 3 

Lincoln, Jon 9 

Lincoln ( Linckhorn ) , Jonathan 8 

Lincoln (Linckhorne), Jn» 8 

Lincoln, Julian (Mayberry) 97- 98 

Lincoln, Margaret, daughter of Mordecai and Julian 97 

Lincoln, Margaret (2), daughter of Mordecai and Julian. . 198 

Lincoln, Martha, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 94 

Lincoln, Martha, daughter of John D 99 

Lincoln, Martha, daughter of Thomas and Alice 98 

Lincoln, Mary, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 94 

Lincoln, Mary, daughter of John D 99 

Lincoln, Mary, daughter of Mordecai, of Exeter 28 

Lincoln, Mary (Medley) 65 

Lincoln, Mary (Rogers) 28, 29. 30, 31, 67, 70, 71 

Lincoln, Mary, wife of Isaac 62, 64 

Lincoln, Mordecai, of Exeter (and Monmouth) 7, 9- 10 

11, 12, 13, 14- 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 

26, 27, 29, 30, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 78, 80, 84, 89, 92 

93, 100, 104, 129, 136, 137 

Lincoln, Mordecai, of Hull 6, 7, 9, 67- 136 

Lincoln, Mordecai, son of Abraham, of Exeter 94, 98 



INDEX 



149 



Lincoln, Mordecai, son of Abraham, of Springfield, 

55. 57. 63, 64 
Lincoln, Mordecai, son of Mordecai, of Exeter, 

28, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 81, 82, 85, 91, 129 

Lincoln, Moses .■ 65 

Lincoln (Lincen or Lincon), Nathan 19, 20 

Lincoln, Oscar <pg 

Lincoln, Phebe, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 95 

Lincoln, Rachel, daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 95 

Lincoln, Rachel (2), daughter of Abraham, of Exeter 96 

Lincoln, Rachel, daughter of Mordecai and Julian 97 

Lincoln, Rebecca, daughter of Abraham, of Springfield.. 55 
Lincoln, Rebecca, wife of "Virginia John,".. 112, 115, 116, 117 

Lincoln, Richard, of the Bail 3 

Lincoln, Richard, son of John D 99 

Lincoln, Robert 4 

Lincoln (Lincoen). Samuel, the immigrant 4, 5 

Lincoln, Sara, daughter of Abraham, of Springfield 56 

Lincoln, Sarah, daughter of John D 99 

Lincoln, Sarah, daughter of Mordecai, of Exeter 129 

Lincoln, Sarah, of Hull 7 

Lincoln, Hon. Solomon 1 

Lincoln, Stephen 5 

Lincoln, Thomas 1 

Lincoln, Thomas, of Exeter, 

28, 67, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75. 76, 77, 79. 80, 82, 85. 89. 90. 91 

Lincoln, Thomas, the cooper 4 

Lincoln, Thomas, the husbandman 4, 136 

Lincoln, Thomas, the miller 4, 136 

Lincoln, Thomas, son of Abraham, of Exeter 96, 98 

Lincoln, Thomas, the weaver 4, 6 

Lincoln (Lincolne), Wm 8 

Lincoln's Inn 7 

Lincoln, the name 130 et scq. 



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